


Sometimes All You Need is a Friend

by thesilverhyena



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Genre: Adoption, Baseball Practice, Coffee addiction?, Deals with Demons, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, Keanu Reeves fanboying, Lots of movie/TV show references, Mother/Son Bonding, Speed is also a great movie, Suggested drug use on Mushroom Hell, a bit of angst, father/son bonding, inter species adoption, kidnapping plots, self doubt, the matrix is a great movie, use of really big words
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26085514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesilverhyena/pseuds/thesilverhyena
Summary: A Blue Devil with super speed just trying to understand and find his place in the universe, a girl who happens to share a name with an iconic character portrayed by Keanu Reeves hiding a danger-riddled past, and a mad doctor hellbent on revenge.At first it's dealing with the pressures of a new life; school, homework, bullies, being a part of a family, having a new friend, and of course making it to baseball practice on time. Then demons from the past decide to show up at the worst possible time. The bonds of family and friendship will be put to the test.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. You Looked Like You Needed a Friend

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my latest project of love. I'm kinda nervous about posting this, since I'm pretty new to the Sonic fandom. I've always enjoyed Sonic the Hedgehog in the back of my mind, but this movie brought it all to the forefront.

**Sometimes All You Need is a Friend**

By: TheSilverHyena

Rated “T” for language and violence in later chapters.

**Chapter 1 : You Looked Like You Needed a Friend**

'So, it's been a while now since I've pretty much become an open secret in this town and I am living my best life! With the Donut Lord's and Pretzel Lady's help, I'm hardly getting the nightmares like I used to. Eggman is old news, probably melted into some sort of deranged mushroom omelet by now. But let's not worry about that guy! Since I no longer have to hide and everyone in Green Hills knows who I am now, I've been going to school, playing on the Little League team, helping with dinner, but movie night is still my favorite. Homework, house rules, a bedtime, honestly I never thought those things would apply to a handsome guy like me. But I actually really like it. Structure. Stability. An actual roof over my head. That doesn't leak! It's awesome! My only regret was simply watching from the sidelines for so long in isolation. I loved Longclaw like she was my mother, but I guess even mothers can be wrong sometimes. I CAN have a life here on Earth. I have friends and I have a family. This is my home and I'm here to stay.'

The Thoughts of Sonic Wachowski

'I came to this planet to get away. To try and forget about what happened. How I-I failed her. How I failed them. And the pain that has been lancing through my heart. A piece of my soul feels like it's been ripped from my very being and torn to pieces. They can't know where I am... I'm not ready to face them. Not after my miserable failure. I meant to remain hidden, try living as the regular kids of this world do. Why I chose to play pretend, given what I am, my past, I have no idea. Maybe it's an honorary sixth stage of grief? Or I've just completely lost it. The later is more likely. Then I saw him... not that he was hard to spot; in a world filled with humans, a blue, furry bipedal hedgehog kind of stands out. But I find myself intrigued, not because of his appearance, nor his innate ability to run at impossibly fast speeds. It is his kindness. His compassion. A gentle heart. And if optimism were a contagion, I think I just located Patient Zero.'

The Thoughts of ???

* **Green Hills Middle School***

It was just a pleasant Spring day like any other at Green Hills Middle School. The teacher rambling on as she wrote math equations on the large chalkboard to a classroom full of students. Some pupils snagged the opportunity for a nap, others quietly chatted with their friends, another was sneakily typing a text by hiding her phone under her desk. However for the most part the distinctive sound of pencils scratching on paper filled the room.

One student in particular stuck out from the crowd; despite the drastic difference in height between him and his piers. Electric blue and peachy-tan fur, for one thing, covered his entire body. A multitude of quills ran along his head, neck, and between the shoulder blades. The only clothing he wore were a pair of sharp red sneakers and white gloves on his paw-like hands. Triangular ears twitched and swiveled atop his head while he did his best to tune out a classmate's whispering conversation happening beside him and actually hear what the teacher was saying.

While in general, Sonic loved actually getting to go to school instead of resorting to simply spying from the windows, math class could hardly be considered his favorite. More often then not, he simply found himself confused as various numbers and symbols blurred together in his vision. Luckily, this was his last class of the day and it was nearly over.

The blue hedgehog's legs swung from his chair, since he was too short for his feet to actually reach the floor, struggling to focus when the shrill ring of the bell sounded throughout the school.

“Alright class, that's all for today. For your homework I want you to...” the teacher's words just seemed to meld and bleed together into an unintelligible garbled mess of mathematical-something-or-other.

But that didn't matter. He'd already taken note of all the homework he was supposed to do.

“Yes! Finally.” Sonic said to himself, perhaps a little louder then he had intended as he cleared up his desk at a breakneck speed.

While he'd been told not to run on school grounds, given the peculiar nature of his unique talents, Sonic was always the first one packed up and ready to head out the door. Except...

“Ah! Mr. Wachowski,” called the teacher, already anticipating the alien child's escape plan.

She'd been meaning to speak with him for the last few days, but even without using his speed, Sonic would always manage to slip away before she had a chance.

While the rest of the class filed out of the room, eager to enjoy what remained of a beautiful afternoon, Sonic froze where he stood, feeling a nervous pit form in his stomach.

“Yes, Mrs. Wolfe?” he questioned, tentatively.

“I just need to talk to you about something,” Mrs. Wolfe said, drumming her fingers on her desk before pulling out a white, sealed envelope from the drawer, “don't worry, you're not in trouble. But I do have some concerns regarding your education.”

**~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~**

Upon walking out of his one on one meeting with his math teacher, Sonic felt as though his usually light feet were made of lead. A groan escaped his mouth as he slouched against the classroom door for a moment, large green eyes momentarily glaring at the envelope in his hands as though it had just insulted him before finding a place to bury it in his backpack.

“What will Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady think when they see this?” the little alien sighed to himself, slumping his shoulders while his ears folded flat against his head, “Visit with a specialist? Really? What even is dyscal-ugghhhh-discourse? No, no, that doesn't sound right. Dyscalculia? Was that it? Is that even a real word? Another word for dumb? Idiot? _-sigh-_ Stupid...”

A referral to a learning specialist. The ultimate in academic humiliation. At least the rest of his classmates were so eager to get outside that no one else was in there to witness this embarrassment.

“Pardon me,” interjected a quiet, but concerned voice, “I-I'm terribly sorry.... I couldn't help but overhear.”

Sonic's ears flicked towards the sound of the voice; a girl. At least two feet taller than he was but still relatively short for a human her age, wearing a pink hoodie, black pleated knee-length skirt, and green-rimmed glasses over her brown eyes. Funny; Sonic would have thought he'd have noticed her earlier, standing right there next to him, especially since the streaks of pink in her chocolate brown hair almost stood out as much as his own blue fur. He recalled seeing her in a few of his classes, but the girl was always very quiet and tended to keep to herself.

“Look... there is nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of people have trouble with math,” she explained further, “And dyscalculia doesn't translate to stupid, or idiot, or dumb. It simply means that you have a harder time learning mathematics than others. If you don't understand something, it doesn't mean you're stupid. Your mind just works differently and there's nothing wrong with that. But, maybe if you'd like, I-I ummm.... I could help you out.”

Glancing up towards his classmate, Sonic felt his previously sour mood dissipating quickly. His ears perked forward and even his short, stubby tail gave a small wag, “What? You'd really do that for me?”

He straightened up, fixing his backpack's shoulder straps before starting down the hall, the girl keeping pace beside him.

“Of course. Sometimes I-I think we all could use a little help. Besides, you look like you could really use a friend right now. By the way, I'm-”

Before the girl could introduce herself properly, the two of them suddenly found themselves interrupted by obnoxious laughing and booming voices coming from down the corridor. It could only be Brad, the wannabe badass and known troublemaker, both in and out of school. He was usually seen accompanied by a pack of his snickering minions. Now the older teen was certainly no Robotnik, but this was not the first time Sonic had the displeasure of interacting with him. Brad leered when he caught sight of the blue hedgehog with the girl; a look of disgust and mistrust on his face.

“HEY TARGET PRACTICE! SHOULDN'T YOU BE YIFFING IN A FUR PILE?!” he shouted, as he stomped down the hall, followed by his usual shallow gaggle.

At that outburst, Brad's friends laughed even harder, especially at the look of pure confusion that crossed Sonic's face, since the alien had no idea what that even meant. The girl however, narrowed her eyes and hissed in retort, “Now THAT was not so curious!”

“Ummm... what does yi-” Sonic began, glancing up towards his new friend before she held up her hand to stop him.

“Trust me, you're better off not knowing what that word means.” she growled, not once taking her eyes off the bully and his companions.

Already, a small crowd of curious onlookers had gathered at the commotion taking place in the hall. Great. Just... wonderful!

“Oh? The weirdo actually speaks.” scoffed Brad, shifting his sights back to Sonic, “So Target Practice, you got yourself a girlfriend then, did ya?” he mocked, looking back to his friends, as though signaling them to laugh and jeer.

Sonic felt his quills bristle involuntarily while his ears pinned back. It took every ounce of self-control not to just give this creep and his cackling posse what they actually deserved. (Especially since he hadn't exactly been in the best of moods to begin with.)

“ _-sigh-_ Like seals trained to clap on command, the lot of you,” the pink-haired girl observed, shaking her head.

“Well maybe if we just keep staring long enough they'll start doing some tricks!” Sonic mentioned, with a sly smirk as he narrowed his gaze, “Trust me, you jerks are gonna pull a muscle if you keep trying to pat yourselves on the back the way you are.”

That comment shut Brad's posse up in a hurry. Sharp-tongued and fast to catch on, this one; already the girl knew she liked him.

“Now, I'll ask you nicely, just this once, BRAD,” she growled, putting a heavy emphasis on the bully's name, “to apologize to my friend here for your discriminatory, egregious, and uncalled for vulgarity.”

Now the bully just scrunched up his face in confusion, as though he was struggling to comprehend the words just spoken to him. Sonic, meanwhile, felt his mood lift a little bit more as he put his hand over his mouth, fighting to hold back a laugh. By now the tension in this “war of words” was building up so thick it could be cut with a knife.

“What did you just say?” demanded the larger boy, stepping forward.

“Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I didn't realize that you had yet to surpass a preschooler's understanding of vocabulary and reading comprehension. From now on I'll be sure to use smaller words you might be able to understand. How you made it this far in life I shall never know, BRAD!”

Despite the sheer size difference, Sonic took notice of how his new friend wasn't backing down nor was she even flinching. She remained where she was, hands patiently clasped behind her back and shoulders squared. It was almost like a scene ripped straight from a movie! The blue hedgehog moved closer to her, crossing his arms in a defiant gesture and leveling a glare to the larger human male. If that girl was willing to stand up for him, then he'd gladly stand by her side.

“Yeah, and I'm getting bored waiting.” Sonic added, impatiently tapping his foot while pretending to glance at a wrist watch, “It's been a whole minute, BRAD!”

“You're going to regret this, you little hipster freaks.” snarled Brad, egged on by his companions.

A small gasp left Sonic's mouth as his ears pinned back once more and the quills along his his head and shoulders bristled, “How dare you!”

“Now, now, there's no need for that, my friend,” the girl insisted, leaning in closer to her opponent, “It's just human nature, after all,” she continued, lowering her tone, “for them to fear what they don't understand.”

Brad looked as though he were about to come back with some sort of clumsy retort, even going as far as to clench his fist to throw a punch. But something held him back. Looking into the girl's eyes, he suddenly leaped backwards with a frightened yelp, much to the utter confusion of his friends.

“What-what the hell are-?!” he stammered, suddenly feeling his mouth going dry as he cast a panicked glance Sonic's way, “Okay, okay, dude... I-I'm sorry.... I-I shouldn't have said that to you.... just-”

Before he finished that sentence, Brad scrambled back to his friends, grabbed one of them by the shoulder to steady himself, and led the whole group away while muttering and whispering, considerably shaken by... something. A small smile crossed the girl's face. She didn't even lament that not a single punch needed to be thrown, (however satisfying that may have been in the moment, best not to draw unwanted attention.)

“Well, that sure showed him,” Sonic scoffed, with a confident nod, glancing up to the rather mysterious girl, “What exactly did you do?”

“ _-sigh-_ Most people just don't have the constitution to defeat me in a staring contest,” she answered, gesturing for them both to start making their way to the main entrance now that the excitement was over.

She leveled a mildly irritated look to the spectators that were still staring, silently telling them that the show was had run it's course and there would be nothing more to see.

“That and two years of drama classes can really come in handy. You never know, a well timed moment of acting could end up saving your life. Oh... please forgive me, where are my manners? My name is Neo. Neo Collins.”

Upon hearing her name, Sonic's already large eyes widened further. A look of sheer joy and awe spread across his face. His hands scrunched up just under his chin while his tail wagged in excitement. How could he have not noticed her before?! He, the Blue Devil of Green Hills, shared classes with someone NAMED after one of the most iconic characters ever portrayed by God's Perfect Creation, Keanu Reeves, and he never knew?!

“Ohmygoshthatissoawesome!You'renamedafterNeofromtheMatrix?KeanuReeves?You'veseenTheMatrixright?Oneofthebestmoviesever!NotasgoodasSpeedofcoursebutanythingwith KeanuReevesshouldbeconsideredanationaltreasure!”

All of Sonic's words spilled out of his mouth at once, causing Neo to halt in her tracks with a look of bewilderment on her face. A small, blue streak darted around from one side to the other, then back again, causing the girl to whip her head around in an effort to keep up with his rapid movements. Finally, Sonic stood in front of her, still beaming with excitement.

“Ummm... Aheh, sorry, I got a little carried away,” he admitted, running his hand through his quills with a sheepish smile, “Name's Sonic Wachowski.”

“An absolute pleasure, Sonic,” Neo stated, smiling quite brightly, “Now... what was all that again?”

**~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~**

Just as it took careful navigation to make it through all the large, winding halls and corridors of the school to the outside steps, dodging students and faculty along the way, the same sort of diligence and resolve was needed to keep up with the pace in which Sonic talked. 'Motor mouth' didn't even begin to cut it!

“Sonic. It's okay to take a breath in between sentences,” Neo mentioned, quirking an eyebrow playfully.

“You know, Pretzel Lady keeps telling me the same thing.”

At Sonic's mention of the rather peculiar nickname he'd given to what Neo could only assume to be another friend of his, she gave him a questioning look but didn't ask anything more about it. The blue hedgehog and human teenager sat on the steps of the school off to the side, as to stay out of the way of foot traffic with an open notebook between them. They had the perfect vantage point to watch the vehicles make their rounds in front of the school to pick up waiting students. It was pleasantly warm outside with blue skies, the sun shining, and a gentle breeze. Even if Sonic's beloved caretaker was running late (as humans tended to do) it worked out in his favor this time.

“See? That makes it easier to understand, doesn't it?” questioned Neo, as she showed Sonic an easier was to approach equations that involved far less erase marks and splitting headaches.

“Oh my-this.... I could do this in my sleep!” Sonic bragged, smiling widely as Neo handed him the notebook and pencil so he could give her process a try for himself.

The blue hedgehog stopped for a moment as though he'd just realized something. Not once had Neo made any question or comment about his rather unique appearance. She didn't shy away when he accidentally let his powers slip during his previous excitement. That girl didn't even look at him as though he were an alien space hedgehog. While his teachers, acquaintances, and little league coach, however friendly towards him they may have been, still let the odd look or side eye slip, Neo treated him like any other person. So far in his time spent as an actual resident of Green Hills, only Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady truly saw him in that light. (Okay, and maybe Observant Carl; formally known as Crazy Carl.)

“Is everything alright, Sonic?”

“Y-yeah. It's all good. I was just, ummmm... curious,” Sonic began, suddenly finding it very hard to pick out his words.

Once again, Neo softly smiled, seemingly reading the blue hedgehog's mind, “Why should it matter? You're kind and sweet, far too good for this world.” she shrugged, before straightening up, “But I will say this. Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.”

Now it was Sonic's turn to smile, narrowing his eyes although the playful look on his face betrayed him, even as he accusingly pointed his pencil at the pink-haired girl, “You heard that from Game of Thrones, didn't you? Didn't ya?”

A rather undignified snorting laughter caused Neo's shoulders to lurch forward, struggling to hold it in but failing. Her face turned a little red, realizing that Sonic caught on in a hurry.

“Yes, yes, guilty. I lifted that from Tyrion Lannister. Can you blame me? It's such a quotable show,” she admitted, with a dramatic sigh.

“Meh, until seasons seven and eight.”

“Sadly true. Such a travesty. The real villains were the writers,” Neo acknowledged, “But that aside, I really believe that there is truth in those glorious season one words of wisdom. More than most people realize.”

Sonic nodded then returned to the task at hand. Any time he got stuck, Neo was more than happy to explain again, never once loosing her patience. She had a sense of calm about her, similar to Pretzel Lady. But there was just... something. Something about Neo that Sonic couldn't quite pick out. A slight pain in her voice, maybe? However, before the little alien could ponder further about his new friend, his ears flicked forward, recognizing the distinct sound of his caretaker's SUV.

“Oh... I-I have to go. Pretzel Lady's here. But... ummmm, thanks. Thanks for, ya know, everything.” he said, shrugging on his backpack while making a subtle gesture towards the school, indicating the “incident” that took place earlier.

“Good heavens, Sonic, I couldn't have enjoyed it more,” Neo stated, “See you tomorrow, then?”

Sonic nodded enthusiastically, “You got it, Neo!”

Gosh it sounded so amazing to use that name without just talking to himself. He was friends with Neo! Maybe not “THE” Neo, but he was friends with someone named after one of Keanu's greatest roles ever! It was pretty dang cool. Without much warning, the blue hedgehog vanished in a blur of blue, zigzagging his way around the other pedestrians. He halted on a dime, right at the back door to the navy blue SUV, tossed his backpack in first rather carelessly, then climbed in himself.

The dark-skinned woman behind the wheel smiled fondly, watching her adopted alien son through the rear view mirror as he settled in, “Hey sweetie, all set?”

“Good to go, Pretzel Lady.” Sonic announced, unable to see the somewhat suspicious look Maddie was giving him through the rear view mirror until she turned around to face him.

“You sure about that, now?”

Sonic let out a nervous little laugh, his ears folding down about halfway in embarrassment while he reached for the seat belt behind him. He clicked it into place, unaware of the breath he was holding. While the little space creature knew he could release it at any time, he wasn't particularly fond of limiting his freedom of movement. That feeling of being restrained didn't agree with him. However, Maddie, having become such a mom over the course of the last several months, insisted that Sonic use it for 'safety' and refused to start driving until that annoying little light on the dash stopped blinking. (At any rate, it was better than a booster seat, that's for sure.)

“Okay, now I'm ready Mo-Maddie,” sighed the boy, feeling a little bit guilty as he caught himself.

“Mhmmm,” was all he got as an answer, as his caretaker's lips curved into a smile before finally putting the vehicle into drive.

She knew Sonic didn't like it. But the thought of the boy, her SON, just having free reign back there and bouncing around in a moving car would not do. (Plus there were the stories both he and Tom recounted from their “road trip” that nearly gave her a heart attack.) So no more shotgun position for the teenage hedgehog. No more “free range” car rides for that matter. And most certainly no more letting Sonic drive! (Much to the boy's disappointment.)

Sonic cast a glance out the window, barely able to see out the bottom given his small stature, just in time to see Neo wave before turning around and walking toward to the other side of the school grounds, disappearing from view.

“How was school today?” asked Maddie, growing a little concerned with how quiet Sonic was.

He'd run up to the vehicle, usually a good sign. But his mind seemed to be elsewhere. Normally getting him to be quiet for two minutes was a great feat. Or that meant something was wrong.

“Ummmm.... fine.” Sonic answered, his voice laced with uncertainty.

The time he'd spent with Neo had nearly caused him to forget about that letter from his teacher he was supposed to give to his caretakers. Thinking about it soured Sonic's mood a little; it was embarrassing! But maybe not quite so much as before, not after his new friend's help. Regaining his composure, Sonic cleared his throat, “I-I mean, ummmm, I was having a little bit of-of trouble with something,”

He was trying not to be too specific at this point, but something about the way Maddie's shoulders slumped just a tad told Sonic that she might have already known, “But-but I, uh, met someone today. We share a few classes together and s-she was very nice to me and offered to help. She's really smart.”

From where he was sitting in the back seat, Sonic could see Maddie's body language shift from worry to bemusement in a hurry. While coming to a stop at a red light, she turned around to face the blue hedgehog, a surprised smile on her face.

“She?! My, my, my, Sonic, you little Blue Devil.”

At once, Sonic felt his entire face flush with warmth and there was no hiding the cute tinge of reddish pink showing beneath peachy-tan and blue fur. Right about now, the little alien wished that he could become one with the upholstery, just sink in and hide until this revelation blew over. He had tried curling in on himself, just roll up into a tight ball and pretend that this would all go away. But of course, that vile, evil seat belt put a halt to that plan. All Sonic could do was just turn away bashfully as the warmth in his face became hotter.

“N-no. I don't know what you're thinking, but it's not-it's not that! She's just a friend. A friend. A very nice person like you and Donut Lord,” Sonic explained, suddenly finding his shoes to be rather fascinating to look at.

“Well, does your little friend have a name?” Maddie asked, her tone laced with eager curiosity as she hit the gas once the light turned green.

“She's not actually little, she's still way taller than me. But I guess she is kinda short for a human her age-wait! Sorry, ermmmm... gettin' off topic. Ummmm,” Sonic rambled, feeling the heat creeping up into his ears now, “Her name is-is Neo. No, I'm not just making that up, her name is actually Neo! She even showed me her school I.D and everything. Just like Neo from the Matrix. It's awesome!”

Maddie laughed quietly to herself, eyeing her adopted alien son through the rear view mirror as he carried on. At first it was all about how Neo stepped in to defend him from Brad; wielding her great powers of large, complex words, a self-proclaimed inability to loose at staring contests, and theatrical arts. Then before Maddie knew what had hit her, she'd have a complete verbal recital of the entire first Matrix movie for the rest of the drive home. Yet the woman could not stop smiling, just seeing how happy Sonic was having his new friend.

Despite the boy's friendly and outgoing nature, while he had many acquaintances since he began going to school and socializing regularly, Maddie didn't recall too many actual friends. Perhaps his unique powers simply intimidated the vast majority of people. Not that anyone said anything out loud, especially around her or her husband.

“So,” Maddie quickly interjected, during a rare pause in Sonic's rapid fire rambling, “Does Neo get a cute little nickname too?”

“Hmmmm, dunno yet. Neo by itself is hard to top with anything else!”

Sonic perked up, finally seeing the familiar house coming into view as the vehicle slowed to a stop in the driveway. A large, wonderful three story family home secluded in the woods. Quiet, peaceful, tranquil, and lots of natural trails outside that were perfect for running. Clean, fresh air. There was no other place on this planet that he'd rather call home.

Once the SUV rolled to a stop, Sonic grabbed his backpack and made to dash out of the car, only to be jerked back by the seat belt he'd forgotten to unbuckle in his haste, “That's gonna leave a mark,” he groaned to himself.

Before dashing off, the boy paused, his ears slightly lowering as he once again remembered; that stupid letter. How could something so small and so simple be such a mood killer? Taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves, Sonic opened his backpack, looking for that horrible snippet just so he could get it done and over with.

“Sweetie? What's wrong?” Maddie questioned, kneeling down to the little hedgehog's level.

Gently, she lifted his chin up to face her, stroking his short but soft fur with her thumb.

“I-I almost forgot... Neo also said something, something both you and Donut Lord told me,” Sonic began, nervously fidgeting as he surrendered the letter to his caretaker while averting eye contact, “S-she said that-that there's nothing to be ashamed of. That everyone needs a little help sometimes.”

A knowing sigh passed Maddie's lips as she eyed the letter. It simply had _'Mr. and Mrs. Wachowski'_ written on the front. Upon opening the single page, it was obvious.

“You want to know something?”

Without waiting for an answer, she pulled Sonic into a hug, gently running her fingers through the quills on his head. At first, the boy wasn't even quite sure what was happening. But he began to relax a little, leaning his head against the woman's shoulder and nuzzling lovingly. The light scent of wildflowers filled his nose. He could feel the soft vibrations of her soothing voice, causing his ears to flick. There was no disappointment as he previously feared. Only love and compassion.

“Your friend Neo is right on! It's okay, sweetheart. This is simply another challenge to overcome. You got this,” Maddie stated, firmly, “Hey... I watched you burst to life with blue lightning and send an evil scientist that was trying to kill you packing through a magic portal to another planet! A visit with a math specialist and a few extra classes will be nothing compared to that.” she added, encouragingly.

“Sometimes I wonder if round two with the Eggman would still be preferable.”

Sonic made a scoffing little laugh as Maddie released him from the hug. He couldn't help but feel that familiar feeling of the skin beneath his fur reddening once again as his caretaker gave him a quizzical look.

“With any luck, we won't find out anytime soon,” Maddie sighed, ruffing up the fur and quills atop Sonic's head.

She laughed a little, looking at the odd angles Sonic's usually well groomed fur stuck out. Sonic just groaned softly, shaking his head at rapid speed, restoring his fur and quills to their former immaculate glory.

“I'm not just the fastest thing alive. Also the most handsome, hands down.”

“More like the most adorable.” Maddie corrected, as she started towards the front door.

A mock gasp escaped Sonic's mouth as he darted in front of his caretaker, “Adorable? You take that back.”

“Never!”

The woman laughed again, reaching out to ruffle the boy's head again, only for him to dart off to one side, then the other, all the way to the steps of the front porch.

“Come on, sweetie. We've got time before Tom gets home. Do you need any help with homework before we get started on dinner?”

“I-I'd really like that.” Sonic answered, stepping into the foyer before turning around to face the Pretzel Lady, a grateful smile spreading across his muzzle.

It had been a long while since the Wachowskis had taken Sonic into their home. Gave him the love, affection, and care that he needed after his prolonged isolation. In all honesty, Maddie and her husband only had one regret; that this wonderful, special little blue space hedgehog had waited so long to reveal himself to them. Fostering the little guy hadn't been easy. Countless nights were spent bringing him back to reality after night terrors, regular panic attacks, and dealing with the trauma the poor child had been suffering from after his ten long years of isolation.

Now, Sonic was healthy, happy, and had his place with a family that loved him and treated him as one of their own. Even if things didn't always go as planned. He loved going to school and learning new things, playing baseball, and now, Sonic had a new friend on top of everything else. Sure, nothing was ever perfect. But still, life was good.

**~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~**

Meanwhile, Neo walked along the edge of the road, Green Hills Middle School left far behind her. There were no people and hardly any vehicles on the road. To the left and right of her were towering trees and woodlands stretching on for miles. This place was rugged, rural, and absolutely beautiful. She loved it here, possibly even a little too much.

“He-he made me... laugh again. I couldn't help smile around him. That light... such a brightness within his soul. It-it reminds me of the fire that used to burn in mine, before it was smothered. Before it was shattered,” Neo whispered to herself, “Perhaps I needed his help just as much as he needed mine. But... do I really deserve such a friend?”

The girl veered off the road, welcoming the cooling shadows of the massive pine and fir trees surrounding her. She took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of the earthen floor and foliage. Her hands reached for something hidden underneath the neckline of her hoodie. A few tears slid down her cheeks as she gazed upon the gold medallion she now held, depicting a dragon holding a blazing red sun. Her grip tightened around the trinket as she lowered her head, taking in another shaky breath.

“I'm sorry... but I'm not ready to return. I'm not ready for you to find me. Please forgive me.”

Neo let the medallion hang just below her neckline and took her glasses off. Before running further into the woods, her previously brown eyes shifted and swirled, becoming a mysterious, animalistic, deep golden amber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'll be honest, FIRST CHAPTERS ARE ALWAYS THE HARDEST! Why? Alrighty, now that that's out of the way, let us carry on.
> 
> First off, if you haven't guessed by now, I LOVED the 2020 Live Action Sonic Movie. (Seriously, it's one of the few good things to come out of this year thus far!) Now what spawned this whole idea in the first place? Well for one, this rendition of Sonic is too adorable for words, and two.... just the fact that I happen to have a character named Neo! (Sonic is such a cute little Keanu Reeves fanboy, I can't even!!) And I thought “What would happen if Sonic actually met someone who shared a name with an iconic Keanu Reeves character?” And now I've got a story idea popping up that I was actually smart enough to write (most) of an outline for.
> 
> (And for those of you SonAmy purists out there, don't worry, this is NOT romance, merely friendship, so don't get your quills in a bunch!)
> 
> Given Neo's friendly personality and gentle nature, I thought she'd be a good friend for Sonic. Although where Sonic is brash and cocky, Neo is more calm and refined. Since she's on Earth, I decided that a human glamour would be the best way for someone like her to hide in plain sight. Neo has also grown quite a bit since the events of In your Nightmares. Here she's 14.
> 
> (If you haven't read my first overly ambitious fanfiction, In your Nightmares, Neo is of a race known as Konderi ((formally Zwetoock)), a bipedal wolf-like creature.)
> 
> As for Sonic, I find myself enjoying the challenge of writing him. He's cocky and brash, but he's also kind, sweet, and has this vulnerability to him that I just love exploring. Like that confident exterior is just a facade to hide his hurt deep down. Think about it, ten years of isolation with only his imagination for company. That is severely damaging. And even though Sonic can now wander around town freely since pretty much everyone saw him take on Robotnik, I could imagine that a lot of people would be afraid of him on some level or another because of his powers.
> 
> Also, Dyscalculia is a mathematics learning disability. I figured that someone like Sonic would probably struggle with a subject like math more than any other, given the conditions he grew up in. (I also have some symptoms of this disorder myself.) It's sometimes called “math dyslexia”. All things considered, he did a pretty good job self-teaching reading and writing. I'd assume he picked up some of it from TV and that he'd spy on school classes during his time in hiding. By no means is he stupid! (I mean, living on your own since age 3, that takes incredible intelligence!) 
> 
> Yes, I know that I did Maddie/Sonic/Mother/Son, but don't you worry Donut Lord fans, I refuse to leave you wanting. (But seriously, that was kinda tricky for me, hope I did not disappoint.) But Sonic's uncontrollable blushing when Maddie finds out Sonic's new friend is a GIRL... OMG, I think I melted a little while writing that.
> 
> Also, the heavy emphasis on “BRAD”, is a joke from my AD&D playing days. There was an NPC named Brad that one of my gaming buddies took extreme offense too and he'd always exaggerate the name “BRAD” and I just thought it'd be funny. I've been waiting for an excuse to insert it into a fic and this one fit the bill. BTW, for those of you that don't know, “yiffing” is something exceptionally explicit in the furry community. I thought of that line after -sigh- accidentally coming across some fanart/fanfiction of this movie that I wish I could scrub from my mind. Sonic, ESPECIALLY this rendition, is a sweet, pure, and innocent treasure that should NOT be in that kind of scenario. He's 13-14 years old for crying out loud! (Yes, I know I've written some explicit smut myself, but that's NOT happening here!)
> 
> And of course, a Game of Thrones nod! Love me some Tyrion Lannister quotes. And that one in particular I think really hits home for Sonic's situation.
> 
> “Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.” 
> 
> I stand by what I said, Seasons 7 & 8 dropped the ball big time. Plus, I know it's highly inappropriate for someone Sonic's age to watch a show like that, but considering he watches movies like Speed, which aren't exactly suited for him either... well... I'm taking liberty with this one, okay?
> 
> Now, I will warn you, this story isn't going to stay light and fluffy forever. Later chapters will get quite intense.
> 
> I certainly hope that you enjoyed and that you'll stay tuned for what I've got next.
> 
> Disclaimer: Of course, while Neo belongs to me, Sonic belongs to Sega/Paramount and this is all written in the name of fun!


	2. We're Here for You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at Sonic truly living his best life on Earth. (Even if needing specialized help in certain subjects is a drag.)
> 
> He can't wait to tell his family about his new friend.
> 
> Apparently there's a new cryptid in Green Hills.

**Sometimes All You Need is a Friend**

By: TheSilverHyena

Rated “T” for language and violence in later chapters.

**Chapter 2 : We're Here for You**

'Okay, having to see a learning specialists sucks, I'm not gonna lie. At first, I thought I was just stupid. Then I reminded myself that people like Brad exist and that makes me feel a whole lot smarter! Cut me a break, I did pretty well for myself while living alone all those years. But there's a big difference between hiding outside the school windows and following along with what supplies I'd managed to scavenge versus actually being IN the classroom. Actually being able to talk to people. Seek help when previously there was only myself to rely on. I can't wait to go back to school tomorrow. I really want to see Neo again.'

The Thoughts of Sonic Wachowski

'Who knew that something as simple as offering to help with math problems could stoke the fire within one's fractured soul? I haven't felt this alive since... that day. Call it what you will. Fate? Destiny? Was I meant to come here? Was it intended that I meet Sonic? Did I really need that damn cup of coffee to drown my sorrows so bad that's the only reason I picked this backwater, primitive planet to hide? Whatever the reason, fate, destiny, random chance, or even terrible writing, he is now my friend. Whether or not I am worthy of his friendship has yet to be seen.'

The Thoughts of Neo “Collins”

* **The Wachowski Residence***

Being cooped up in classrooms then a slow car ride home (slow as far as Sonic was concerned) usually left the hyperactive teenage blue hedgehog with a lot of pent up energy to expel. Maddie knew that the second he tore up the stairs and to his attic bedroom, her little foster alien would probably need to go for a quick run before actually being able to sit still and focus on homework. Besides, having just recently gotten off work herself, having a few minutes to breathe and relax would be nice.

“It's not working with the animals that's the problem, it's the people that tend to be difficult.” she muttered to herself with a bemused smile, “Don't you think so, Ozzie?”

A large and very gentle Golden Retriever padded his way up to Maddie, happy to see that a familiar face was finally home. While the veterinarian took a seat in the living room, scratching the dog's head, she pulled out her phone and began a text to her husband, 'Dinner's at 6, Taco Tuesday. As we suspected, Sonic needs to see a math specialist.'

And send. For a moment she thought about mentioning Neo, but Maddie figured that Sonic would want to tell the Donut Lord all about his new friend himself.

She hardly even blinked as the now very familiar blue blur shot right past her, causing her long, dark hair to fly for a moment from the wake he left. Maddie chuckled softly to herself, already hearing the rapid footsteps returning.

“Ummm... I-I'll be right back, Pretzel Lady. Just... you know, after school, then car rides with that evil seat belt-” Sonic explained, shifting from foot to foot.

“Ten minutes,” Maddie stated.

“Fifteen?” bargained Sonic, perking up his ears while tilting his head.

He could see the gears within Pretzel Lady's mind were already turning.

“Come here, sweetie.”

Sonic let out a soft groan, trying to fight the smile spreading across his face as he obeyed. Once he was close enough, the boy knew what was coming. Maddie bent down from her seat, cupping her little hedgehog's cheek in one hand while gently kissing the top of his head, right between his ears.

“Ugh... so uncool.” Sonic muttered, just barely loud enough so that his caretaker could hear him.

“Fifteen,” Maddie finally agreed, leaning back in her seat with a smile, “am I cool again?”

With a shrug and a mischievous little look on his face, Sonic held up to fingers with a little space in between them, indicating that indeed, Pretzel Lady was at the very least, a tad bit cool now. And just like that, the boy was out the door in a flash.

“It's a start, isn't it, Ozzie?” snickered Maddie, as she put her phone down to give the patient Golden Retriever her full attention.

**~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~**

Now, Sonic wasn't one to look at chores as chores. He preferred to think of them as extracurricular learning experiences. Something that his caretakers were quite grateful for. He was never one to complain when asked to do something (usually, at least.) In fact, the curious blue hedgehog just enjoyed being where his favorite humans were and pitching in any way he could. Gone were the days of foraging and dumpster diving. Out of all the various chores that needed to be done, by far Sonic's favorite had to be cooking. One of his absolute favorite things about Earth was the food, and that was before actually eating his favorite dishes properly prepared and hot.

“Oh, that smells so good,” Sonic practically drooled, gazing upon the heavenly ground beef concoction as it simmered on the stove.

It was the perfect counterpart to guac, that most glorious blend of avocado, onion, tomato, and spices. Wrapped in a warm tortilla with cheese, lettuce, and sour cream. Dare he admit it was almost a rival to his absolute favorite, chili dogs. (Almost.) But there was only one thing that could pull the blue alien's attention off of the countless, delicious aromas wafting through the air and the sound of fresh onions being chopped by Maddie.

Sonic's ears twitched and swiveled back, hearing the distinct sound of the Donut Lord's truck pulling into the driveway, “He's here!”

“Go on, sweetie. I got this covered.” encouraged Maddie.

Since the day Sonic had been welcomed into their home, not once had he failed to greet Tom as soon as the sheriff returned home from work. Granted, it was rare that anything exciting or dangerous happened in Green Hills. In fact, the most recent major events had to have been the time Sonic accidentally caused that blackout, subsequently followed a few days later by the “Battle on Main Street” against Robotnik.

Yet the fact that the Donut Lord was always there to help someone in need, be it a family of ducks crossing the street, cleaning out the neighbor's gutters, or helping a desperate and scared space hedgehog dodge the US Government via a road trip to San Francisco was what Sonic had always idolized about him. He was the protector of the town. Defender of all creatures big and small. And he was about to step through the front door any second!

“Hey, I'm home!” Tom announced, taking a moment to set his car keys on the little table near the door.

The sheriff, still in his full uniform, barely had a chance to acknowledge the wonderful smell filling the house before he had an excited ball of blue energy practically dancing all around him.

“Donut Lord! Good to have ya back!” Sonic called out, finally skidding to a halt.

“Good to be back, buddy,” Tom answered, kneeling down to the boy's level and opening up his arms.

Without hesitation, Sonic hopped up into the human's embrace, allowing himself to be carried. Happily, he nuzzled against his caretaker's shoulder, tail giving a few little wags, just content to be in the Donut Lord's company. The sound of blunt claws clicking against hardwood floors was followed up with a soft bark from Ozzie. Of course the loyal canine was happy to see that the rest of the family was home.

“You're too slow, Ozzie,” teased Sonic.

“I've got two hands,” Tom retorted, bending down just a little to give Ozzie some love while still keeping a hold of the blue hedgehog.

“So, did anything exciting happen today? Robbery? Shoot out? High speed pursuit? Please don't tell me that I missed a high speed pursuit.”

At Sonic's usual rapid fire questions, Tom just laughed and shook his head while making his way into the kitchen, the faithful Golden Retriever at his heels.

“No. Buuuuuuuut I helped old Mrs. Granger change a flat tire, rescued a kitten that got stuck in a tree, and FORMALLY Crazy Carl is at it again,” Tom recounted, “He came into the cafe during lunch talking about something he allegedly saw in the woods last night. Called it a “Lupe Garou”, or a werewolf. Luckily, according to him, it was just a small one... allegedly.”

“Well, sounds like you've had a thrilling day, hon,” Maddie mentioned, as she stirred the taco meat, “Which one gave you more trouble, the kitten, the werewolf, or the duck that steals bagels?” she questioned, smiling brightly.

The two of them laughed, sharing a quick 'welcome home' kiss. Sonic of course let out a little moan, resting his chin against Tom's shoulder and watching out the corner of his eye while trying to hide his smile.

“Actually, if it's trouble you're asking about, I'd say it's this little guy right here,” came the Donut Lord's answer, as he lightly stroked the little hedgehog's blue quills.

“What? Me? Trouble? Nawwwww.... not me. I am one hundred percent innocent.” Sonic confirmed, tucking in his arms and bringing his hands up close to his chest, “Now those raccoons on the other hand, they're always up to something.”

“Our little Blue Devil.”

With that, Maddie was able to sneak in a little peak right on top of Sonic's head when he wasn't ready for it. The alien hedgehog's ears folded down about halfway and that familiar pinkish-red was beginning to show beneath his fur once more as he groaned in embarrassment.

“Oh, speaking of the little Blue Devil, Sonic, isn't there something you'd like to share with the great Donut Lord?” Maddie reminded.

Intrigued, the sheriff glanced down to the blue hedgehog in his arms expectantly. At once, Sonic perked up, his short tail giving an excited wag.

“I made a new friend at school today!”

“What?! That's great, buddy,” Tom said, his voice clearly sharing in Sonic's excitement, “So, who is it? Or am I going to have to guess?”

“You'd never guess! Because she's named after Neo from the Matrix! That's so cool. Isn't that cool? Her name is actually Neo! Can you believe it?! And she's super nice, really smart, and likes to use really big, complicated words, she doesn't loose at staring contests, but she's never gone up against Pretzel Lady before so I'm actually kinda curious to see how that would go,” Sonic rapidly prattled on, as the sheriff finally set him down.

All Maddie had to do was make a quick gesture towards the dining room table for Sonic to know what he was supposed to do next. Without missing a beat and all while still talking a mile a minute, he had already set the table in record time before helping Tom with moving all their taco fixings.

“Yeah, it was kinda strange. I never even really noticed her before in class. Or maybe I did, it-it's kinda weird. Anyways, Neo talked to me after-” it was right about now did the little alien's voice slow down and spoke as though there were a bitter taste on his tongue, “ _-sigh-_ My teacher said that she wanted me to see a math specialist.” he mumbled, ears twitching while a slight frown crossed his face.

“Ummm, come again?” questioned Tom.

“A referral to see a learning specialist,” Maddie mouthed, with a slight head nod.

“But Neo said she could help me. And of course, you guys are always here for me too.”

Sonic perked up, looking from Tom then to Maddie. The two best people in the world. His caretakers. (Perhaps they were even something more. Something always on the tip of Sonic's tongue that he lacked the courage to say out loud.) The Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady. His family. And it was finally time to enjoy dinner.

**~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~**

Later that night, well after dinner and finishing up the last of his homework, Sonic reclined on the well-loved beanbag inside his 'cave', flipping through his stack of The Flash comic books. His shoes were kicked off, leaving only socks on his feet. The 'cave' was an affectionate nickname given to the little alien's attic bedroom. Quite possibly one of the biggest surprises he'd ever received in his life. How Tom and Maddie even managed to move everything of his without him knowing was a mystery for the ages, but he was glad they did. As much as Sonic might reminisce over his old cave that served as his home for ten years out in the woods, he wouldn't trade his room in the Wachowski house for anything else on Earth.

The clear Christmas lights hanging on the natural wooden walls and along the rafters provided a pleasant, rustic ambiance. A skylight in the ceiling allowed for plenty of natural light during the day and on clear nights offered a beautiful view of the stars. What might have appeared to be a hoarder's nest to the untrained eye was actually a testament to Sonic's clever ingenuity, creativity, and talent for improvising with whatever he could scavenge. An old dryer served as his “home gym”. A pilfered highway sign and some empty soda cans? He had his own ping pong table; something he'd still play against himself when left to his own devices. One of the old shelves now made a perfect nightstand, where the little alien kept his satchel of gold rings and the Piston Pit guest check bucket list that just kept growing in size. Road signs that Sonic had 'edited' for his own amusement hung on the walls along with a framed photo of himself with Tom, Maddie, and Ozzie; their first real family photo. Now that last one was positioned where he'd be able to see it every night before going to sleep, just a little ways away from the race car bed he was particularly fond of.

Ears flicking toward the direction of footsteps coming up the creaky stairway, Sonic glanced up from his comic, closing it and putting it on the pile he'd finished reading.

“Finally! I was getting worried, Da- Donut Lord. If you were running any later-”

“Come on, it was only five minutes, bud,” Tom chuckled, as he made his way to the top of the stairs, “Now, did you use that excruciatingly painful five minutes that I was late to go brush your teeth?”

All the sheriff got in response was an alarmed look and an uncertain “Ummmmm....?” in response. The corner of the human's mouth turned up into a smile as a sudden blur of blue rushed past him, leaving a quick 'whoosh' in his wake. Tom counted down the seconds in his head right up until Sonic returned with the most innocent smile imaginable.

“Yes!” Sonic finally answered, his tail giving a few quick wags.

Tom just let out a soft laugh and gave a suspicious nod, followed by a quick, “Mrmhmmmmm.”

He made his way to the little alien's bed, watching with amusement as Sonic darted around the room, expending some last minute energy for the night. It almost happened again, but once more, the boy had caught himself. Funny, Tom found that he was a little disappointed. However he didn't want to rush or push the child. The mighty Donut Lord knew it would be that much more rewarding when Sonic finally felt comfortable enough to say it without any sort of coaxing.

At his caretaker's beckoning, Sonic appeared on the bed, standing at the foot with his head tilted cutely. Gently, Tom ruffled the fur and quills on the boy's head, “Settle down now, buddy. Remember, you've got baseball practice tomorrow after school.”

“Yup, I remember. I love playing baseball. Oh, do you think I should invite Neo to come watch? Would it be too soon, do you think? I don't even know if she's into baseball or not.”

With a little laugh of his own, Sonic quieted and lay down, nuzzling against his pillow as Tom pulled the sheet and blankets over his small form.

“I see no reason why not,” Tom answered, “It can't hurt to ask her.”

A tired yawn escaped the blue hedgehog's mouth once he settled in and his large, green eyes became heavy. Sonic could feel the Donut Lord's hands begin to gently scratch and rub his ears. Ah yes, a good ear rub, the cunning little Blue Devil's biggest weakness! Sonic was helpless to resist and it happened to be one of the Donut Lord's greatest powers.

“Mmphh... please don't stop,” Sonic muttered, sleepily as he shifted his head, giving Tom easier access.

His caretaker gave both ears equal affection before turning down the lights, bathing the entire room in soothing shadows, “Good night, Sonic.”

“G'night, Donut Lord,”

Before his favorite human could leave for the night, Sonic remembered something; something that had been nagging at him since that afternoon, “Hey, ummm... Donut Lord?”

“Yes?”

“Something's been bothering me,” explained Sonic, “t-that kid Brad, earlier today, he-he told me that I should-I should ummmm....”

He hesitated, ears folding back, unsure if what he was about to say would be some sort of bad word.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me. It's alright.” Tom reassured the boy.

With a sigh, Sonic continued, “He said that I should be.... ummm.... y-yiffing in a fur pile? I don't know what that means, but Neo said I was better off not knowing.”

A concerned frown crossed the sheriff's face. He didn't know what that meant either but he didn't like the implications one bit. All he did know was that boy, Brad, was trouble and that this wasn't the first time he'd bullied Sonic. Or got into trouble. In fact just last week Tom had caught Brad and a few of his friends tagging the back alley of the Quick Mart convenience store while he was out on patrol. Perhaps the incident today was some sort of payback?

“I haven't the foggiest but try not to let it trouble you, buddy. That kid's just a jerk and he's jealous of your good looks. But I swear if he doesn't shape up I'll probably end up arresting him in a couple years.”

Sonic snorted out a laugh, once again wishing his caretaker good night. The Donut Lord was right. He usually was. So with the pleasant thought of Brad eventually getting his much deserved kumuppets, the blue hedgehog finally drifted off to sleep.

**~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~**

“Oh my-! That's disgusting!”

It only took one brief moment of curiosity for Tom to wish that he could permanently undo that search as he set his phone against his chest. Sonic's friend was absolutely right! The kid was better off not knowing.

Maddie gave her husband a quizzical look as the two of them prepared for bed, “Honey, what are you talking about?”

“Sonic told me what Brad told him to do and I made the mistake of looking it up,” mumbled Tom, as though he were trying to wipe a horrifically bitter taste from his mouth, “Ugh! How does a kid that age learn about things like that?!”

Of course, with “Mamma Bear” mode about to activate, Maddie insisted on seeing what her husband was trying to keep hidden from her. Unable to dissuade his wife, Tom showed her his phone screen which might have proven to be an even bigger mistake.

“Oh... he did not say that to our-?!” Maddie glowered, her eyes narrowing, “That boy is gonna get his butt whooped one of these days and he's gonna deserve every second of it!”

“Yes, but until that day arrives I'd rather not have to arrest my beautiful and wonderful wife for physically assaulting a minor. However much the little crap may deserve it.”

The sheriff managed to calm Maddie down, but it was obvious that she was still somewhat ticked (to put it mildly.) This wasn't the first time something like this had happened between Sonic and Brad, yet it seemed as though the school was doing very little about it. Perhaps it was high time they went directly to the source, Brad's parents! A chat was in order. They laid in bed for a moment in silence, just listening to the sound of Ozzie gently snoring from his doggie bed on the floor.

“At least we know someone's got our son's back even when we aren't around,” Tom said, breaking the silence.

A small smile crossed Maddie's face as she turned to her husband. Tom didn't even hesitate; as far as he was concerned, that little blue alien hedgehog upstairs was their son and no one could tell them otherwise.

“He almost let that three letter 'D'-word slip, didn't he?” Maddie questioned, “You know, he thinks we don't notice. It happened on the drive home from school too. Just with a three letter 'M'-word.”

“Yup. Little guy caught himself, though,” confirmed Tom, with a heavy sigh, “Did you know that it's almost been a year now?”

Nearly a year since that blue furball stumbled into their lives and turned them upside down. But in the absolute best way possible. It was hard to believe; Maddie and Tom had been fostering Sonic for almost a full year! And now, it would be impossible to imagine their lives without him. That amazing, speedy space hedgehog had filled their home with more love, affection, and hope then they could have ever dreamed. Sonic filled the void that they didn't even realize was there! Honestly, they needed him as much as he needed them.

“Well, you know what?” said Maddie, lightly rubbing her husband's shoulder before snuggling closer, “That might change sooner then you think. It came today. IT,” she emphasized.

Now Tom felt his eyes grow wide as his heart skipped a beat. It took him a minute to catch his breath, despite not having run anywhere. This would either change everything or possibly nothing at all. But there was no denying their love for the boy. However, they didn't just want to be his friends. Not just his caretakers. Not guardians. No. They wanted to be his parents. Officially.

“So when do we tell him?” asked Tom.

**~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~**

The next morning things seemed to get back to normal. Well, normal for the Wachowski household, anyways. Thankfully for both Tom and Maddie, Sonic had never followed up on Brad's derogatory insult. He was far more focused on more important things, like what was for breakfast and making sure that he had everything he needed for school.

Tom would drop Sonic off today while on his way to work so that Maddie could do her yoga in peace. (Considering what had happened last night, she needed it.) While waiting for the Donut Lord to get ready, Sonic was out on the back deck with the Pretzel Lady, attempting to copy her bone-bending poses.

“Ow... ow, ow... I don't think hedgehogs were meant to bend this way.” Sonic muttered, catching himself before he nearly face planted into the wooden deck.

Although Maddie was doing her best to find her inner calm and peace, she struggled to stifle a small laugh before coming out of her rather bendy pose.

“Alright bud, time to go!” the sheriff called, from the driveway.

“Oh! Gotta go, bye Pretzel Lady!”

Sonic was just about to make his mad dash for the truck, backpack slung over his shoulder, what he felt Maddie's arms wrap around him and pull him into a hug, “You have a good day, sweetheart. Be good, stay safe.”

“Awwww, but that takes all the fun out of it,” Sonic pouted, in a mock voice.

With a final wave and a flash of blue he was already gone.

**~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~**

“See ya at practice, Donut Lord!” Sonic called, giving his caretaker one last wave before heading up the steps to the school.

He gave a little sigh, already looking around for any sign of Neo while thinking about what today was going to bring. Little League, be it practice or actual games, was something Sonic eagerly looked forward to. Tom always made a special effort to attend both; not only to support the blue hedgehog as he played but usually they'd go out and do something fun afterward, like get ice cream or just take a pleasant stroll around the park. A very father and son sort of bonding thing-but, was it wrong to think that? It didn't feel wrong. So why was his overactive mind second guessing his heart?

“Of course he's your friend, Sonic. And your caretaker. B-but surely not-not that... nawwwww. Don't be silly.”

Some habits never die. Talking to himself was one of the ways Sonic had coped through years of prolonged isolation. However, he'd since learned to be quieter when there were other people around. What he had yet to learn was how to lie to himself convincingly. But that lesson would have to wait!

“Well hello there, Flash,” came a familiar voice from behind Sonic.

Geez, how did he not hear her coming with his superior hearing? Was that girl secretly a ninja or something? Sonic gave a smile in response to the nickname she called him by; Flash. How fitting for a speedster like him. His favorite comic book hero no less. The blue hedgehog's ears swiveled back before he glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was Neo, pink hoodie, pink hair, green-rimmed glasses, and a large takeout coffee cup in her hand. Although she was smiling brightly, Sonic couldn't help but notice the troubled ticks she gave off. (The boy knew because he himself had his own that he was still dealing with.) The girl's eyes seemed a little bit red, but he couldn't quite tell if she'd been crying or not.

“Neo, is everything alright? Oh! Does this have to do with what happened yesterday? What happened? Did you get in trouble? Was it something I did? I sure hope not. If there's something bothering you, you can talk to me. I may talk a lot but I am a good listener too. Pretzel Lady and Donut Lord always tell me that it's okay to talk if something is troubling me.”

Neo just shook her head, keeping pace with her friend as they walked to their first class of the period, “Oh no, nothing like that. It's just.... ummm, allergies. I think.”

Okay, that didn't sound entirely convincing. The blue hedgehog gave Neo a rather scrutinizing look as his nose twitched. Something was troubling her. However, both of them turned their heads, keeping an eye on Brad and his posse as the other group stomped past them without a word. One of the older kids gave Neo a light shove to the shoulder from behind, intending for it to just look like an accidental bump. A few dribbles of the girl's coffee were the only casualties, nothing to serious. It was enough for Sonic to take notice and frown. He thought about doing something, especially when he saw the way Neo leveled a glower at the guilty party. However the fact that Brad himself grabbed his friend by the shoulder and harshly whispered something in his ear while taking a nervous glance back was enough for Sonic. For now at least.

“Hmph! Allergic to morons, huh?” he questioned, completely straight faced, “Me to. Sadly, I don't think there's a cure.”

Neo actually spit her coffee out upon hearing that, stifling a laugh, “You certainly catch on fast, Sonic. But I do find that a high five directly to the face of the offending party can be an effective remedy.”

“Fast is just how I roll!” Sonic declared, puffing out his chest a little while waving at a few of his other classmates, “And I love high fives. I give great high fives. Oh, maybe I can get them when they least suspect it.”

“I'd recommend cornering them in the bathroom,” Neo suggested, “No security cameras and a lot of very hard surfaces.”

Sonic mused to himself, stroking his chin in thought, “Do you watch way too many action movies too? That's a great idea!”

With an innocent shrug, the girl simply admitted, “Oh, now and then. Sonic, have you ever seen True Lies? There's a marvelous scene in there-”

“-Where Arnold Schwarzenegger beats up those bad guys in a public restroom?!” Sonic finished for Neo.

The girl nodded, stifling herself from laughing to much as she took another sip of coffee. However, while Sonic would have been perfectly content to discuss badass action flicks all day, there was something else on his mind.

“Hey uhhhh... Neo? Y-you're not busy after school, are you?”

He sounded a little bit tentative, maybe even bashful. It was obvious that he was trying to hide it under a thin veil of confidence that just came across as cute.

“Not that I know of. Why do you ask?” Neo questioned, taking another sip of her drink.

“Well, I, uh, was just wondering if you'd like to come to my Little League practice after school today. No pressure, no pressure at all. It's just that Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady will be there and I think they'd like to meet you. I thought it might be fun since you helped me and all and I might have told them all about you over dinner last night.”

Sonic tried to keep himself from rambling; it was actually quite endearing. So first it was helping out with his math homework and now he wanted her to be at his sporting events? Meet his Donut Lord? Pretzel Lady? Whoever they were, they were of great important to the little blue hedgehog, that much was for certain. Maybe this was just the sort of thing Neo needed right now, even if baseball was not something she knew particularly well. It meant a lot to her new friend and that's all that mattered.

“Sonic, thank you. I would be delighted to attend.”

At once, the blue hedgehog let go of that nervous breath wasn't even fully aware he was holding.

“Yes! Oh my gosh this is so exciting. I-I don't think I've introduced anyone to my caretakers before. Another first. I'll need to cross this off my bucket list. No, first write it down THEN cross it off!”

Well, there was a little tidbit of information Sonic let slip, be it intentional or not. Apparently this Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady were the alien hedgehog's caretakers. No wonder he spoke so fondly and highly of them. But perhaps there was something more, as overhearing Sonic's little muttering talk with himself had shown. Neo wasn't one to pry, though. When her friend was ready, he'd let her know.

As for Sonic Wachowski, he had his home, his family, and now another friend. Even if extra classes and visiting with learning specialists did really suck, right now life was good.

**::TO BE CONTINUED::**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we've got a little bit of Sonic's home life, about as domestic and mundane as having a foster alien under your roof as you can get. Really, he strikes me as the sort who is just happy to be with his favorite people, wants a full stomach, have a comfortable spot on the couch, help with his homework, and to be tucked in at night. 
> 
> I'm really hoping that the ending bit with Neo was okay. Argh, I don't know, I'm worried it might have come across as forced no matter how many times I re-read and re-wrote it. Sonic would know a facade when he sees one, considering he's done the same thing for a good long while. But I love the idea of him getting excited about sharing his new friend with his caretakers.
> 
> That little “True Lies” bit was added in last minute. Seriously, if you haven't seen that movie, find it! Watch it. Classic Arnold and I figured that would be right up Sonic's alley. (It's a personal favorite of mine.)
> 
> And of course, Green Hills now has another cryptid. A “Lupe Garou” roaming the woods.
> 
> Don't you worry, the next chapter will start to get things rolling. After all, Sonic is truly living his best life on Earth, even if things aren't exactly perfect. He's got a home, a family, friends, he goes to school, plays baseball, and enjoys cuddles with Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady. No longer does he have to live on the sidelines, (at least in Green Hills). So let's put all this happiness in danger, why don't we? Old news is only old until it comes crashing down the front door, after all.
> 
> Disclaimer: Of course, while Neo belongs to me, Sonic belongs to Sega/Paramount and this is all written in the name of fun!


	3. Whatcha do About Purgatory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The not-so-good doctor has quite a surprise in his little slice of Hell. But is this "red demon" just the result of the wrong sort of mushroom he ate?

**Sometimes All You Need is a Friend**

By: TheSilverHyena

Rated “T” for language, violence, and implied drug use starting in THIS chapter.

**Chapter 3 : Whatcha do About Purgatory**

**Doctor's Log Supplemental**

_'Day 358, estimated. Strange. The isolation. The heat. The lack of technology and a decent shower. It all feels so normal. Didn't even miss Christmas. Banished to this uninhabited alien planet with no resources. No supplies. No apparent way home. Agent Stone remains my rock. My grasp on sanity remains absolute. The alien quill in my possession retains it's potential. I just need to discover a way to effectively harness it. Now if only the mushrooms would cease their constant chatter. I have to arrange my departure back to Earth. That silly little alien must be unaware of the mistake he made when he let me live.'_

***Somewhere on the far side of the Universe***

To call it “Hell” would not have been considered an overstatement. First of all, it was hot. Second, the humidity could have been considered a form of attempted murder. Third, mushrooms, mushrooms, and more mushrooms. A whole planet filled with nothing but mushrooms as far as the eye could see. Enormous fungi, taller than the skyscrapers of Earth's most notable cities, held a host of smaller mushrooms atop their massive caps. It was impossible to see where the actual ground below began due to the rolling, writhing host of fungus leeching onto any available surface. If you were lucky, you might come across some ferns, moss, or a puddle of uncontaminated water. But the stench! That horrible, suffocating stench! Not to mention the slime. Dear God, the gross, stinking slime!

A whole entire fungus infested planet with only a single, solitary inhabitant. Not by choice, mind you. Buy hey! It wasn't all bad. At least he was no longer surrounded by slow-minded, incompetent imbeciles. On this world, he answered to no one but himself. Just himself. With nothing more to his name then a damaged red and black flight suit, what pieces of his broken prototype jet he could carry, and his cunning, genius mind.

“Alright Agent Stone, are you ready to get a head start?” Dr. Robotnik questioned, grasping a rock from a bed of moss that had a vaguely carved human face.

With a mighty heave, he threw the small boulder ahead to the next mushroom cap.

“You know the drill! Rockconnaissance! Ahahahaaaaa! That's still funny. Three hundred and fifty eight days by my nearest estimate of Earth days and it never fails to get a laugh!”

One look could tell you that living in the wild, completely cut off from civilization, (cut off from his beautiful machines he had loved so much,) had not been kind to him. His bald head was very red from the constant beating of this planet's harsh sun. The tattered flight suit was very ill fitting on the human's somewhat bulging and mildly grotesque body. Goggles, that had a broken lens on the right side, covered his eyes. But by far the crazy, bushy mustache growing wildly out of proportion might be the first thing one would notice.

As he trudged forward through this unforgiving alien world that had since become home, Dr. Robotnik made several strange noises, as though he were trying to become one with the machines he adored so. His movements were strangely precise and deliberate, each one in time with the buzzing and whirring sounds he made with his tongue.

“Zzzzdtt! Zzzzzzzzdtt. Zzzzdt. Zzzzzdtt.... Ahahaha! Oh come on, cheer up.”

By his estimate, the insane doctor had calculated that he'd already traversed the entire planet on foot. Twice! There was not enough of his wrecked jet left to craft his means of escape, only enough to scavenge some parts for a makeshift weapon among other things. Not that it was a necessity on this planet considering the fungus didn't actively attack nor were there any predators. Just old habits and a need to keep his mind sharp and focused.

Among many things Dr. Robotnik had learned since his forced arrival; mushrooms for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner every freaking day SUCKED! He'd learned to be very careful about which ones he ate in a hurry. While there were some safe varieties that could be recognized, like White Button and Portobello, there seemed to be just as many of the toxic variety. (The first week spent here, the Doc learned VERY quickly that sampling alien 'shrooms with no access to indoor plumbing was an equation for complete and utter disaster.) Others would cause him to become incredibly dizzy, see sound, hear colors, and feel whispers among other mind warping, reality bending effects. There were also the wide variety of spores and mold to avoid inhaling. One toadstool variety in particular released a most foul and noxious odor when pierced, oozing a putrid and sickly yellow puss. Dr. Robotnik made sure to avoid those whenever he came across them.

Bending down to pick up “Agent Stone” and carry on with their routine, Dr. Robotnik paused. The sun blazed overhead, casting the entire landscape in a sweltering inferno. So why in the name of science did he suddenly feel an icy chill run up and down his spine? A sudden gust of wind brought back some old memories. Painful, bitter memories of that smarmy, smart-mouthed little blue prick and his equally irritating babysitter cop to be exact.

He stopped beneath a rather tall stalk with a wide cap and surveyed the lonely fungi forest before him, seeing nothing more than the same. No sign of sentient life out there. However, a noise from behind the human grabbed his attention, causing him to turn around. Since the only noises Dr. Robotnik ever heard on this planet were those he made himself, (and the occasional chatter from some cheeky toadstools) it came as quite a shock when he saw something swinging from atop the mushroom cap he'd been ducking under for some shade. Sunlight glinted off the metal pendulum as it swung, an amused chuckle from up above following.

“Agent Stone! You have failed in your duties,” Dr. Robotnik hissed into the rock's 'ear', before he set it down.

He tapped on a device strapped to his wrist then spoke into it, “Doctor's log, number five hundred and forty seven, personal. The Shiitake mushrooms may no longer safe for consumption. Visual reception may be impaired. Further analysis will be conducted.”

“Well, well, well, isn't this interesting. Here I was just looking for a very specific mushroom to cultivate. But instead I find a... fungi,” purred an unfamiliar feminine voice, “Lucky me.”

Wait. Unfamiliar? No, no! More like completely unexpected. Now, Robotnik took off his broken goggles, resting them atop his forehead as he squinted up at the mushroom he'd previously been using for shade. Even after rubbing his eyes, the human still cannot trust what he is seeing.

“Doctor's log number five hundred and forty eight, personal. My grasp on sanity continues to remain in tact. It should be noted that the mirages have begun to speak to me directly in terrible mushroom related puns instead of offering vague instruction in the form of whispers as previously logged. Currently I am witnessing a full visual mirage, apparent human female, impractically equipped for the harsh environment.”

Sitting atop the mushroom, the woman just gazed downward. She smirked devilishly before pulling up the long, chrome stick she held in her hand, which upon closer inspection was some sort of spear with a wickedly sharp blade. As the doctor had noted, the female carried nothing save for that weapon and a satchel at her hip. Her black leather boots looked more like they belonged on a fashion runway than a hike and the silken red gown was indeed an ill-suited tripping hazard for the expedition of this treacherous world. Yet her long, blonde hair was neatly tied back, no sign of sweat or grime upon fair skin, nor any sign of wear on her clothes.

“Oh? Oh! Ahahaha... I see. You've sampled some of THOSE 'shrooms of the 'magic' variety,” she exclaimed, in a silky and seductive tone, “Far more than any mortal like yourself ever should. You can't even trust your own eyes anymore. Right now you're wondering if I even exist.”

After another long, scrutinizing look, Robotnik turned to the stone head next to him on the ground, “Agent Stone! Care to granite me your input?”

While there is no answer from the boulder, Robotnik nodded.

“Granite. Come on, laugh! That's hilarious!” he barks, throwing out his arms.

The woman in red just watched the lunatic before her with a befuddled expression across her face. This couldn't be right. Yet here it was. Perhaps she needed to make sure that she wasn't the one seeing things.

“And you called my pun dreadful,” she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes before smoothly sliding from her perch to be at ground level with this absolute enigma of a man, “Alright, Doctor.... ah! Doctor Robotnik, is it? Or is it Dr. Eggman? My dear, you seem terribly conflicted.”

Upon hearing his name, Robotnik's laughter ceased. He didn't recall ever telling this woman his name. Hell, was she even there or just a figment of the imagination conjured by a poor choice for breakfast? A VERY vivid figment of the imagination.

“Agent Stone. You're fired!” Dr. Robotnik snarled, glaring at the stone head before feeling two slender fingers against the side of his cheek turn his head.

Even before his banishment, the scientist had minimized the need for any sort of human contact. So naturally the feeling of another living being's skin on his own came as a bit of a shock, one that caused an involuntary step backwards. Revulsion came first, yet there was something else. Something that could not be quantified. And Robotnik didn't like that one bit.

“Ah yes. Once you held great power. Commanded an army with all questions removed. The world at your very fingertips. And a mind sharper than the tip of my spear. A cunning mind capable of making a serpent turn green with envy. Oh sweetie, and to top it all off you were one handsome devil then, weren't you?”

The red woman's face spread into a grin as she gauged Dr. Robotnik's reaction. Very quickly, the human was sobering up to his new reality. This woman REALLY was there! Another person. Here. On this planet.

“The name is Riley. Riley Prescott. A genuine pleasure, my dear.”

“Zzzzdt! Zzzzzzzdtttt!” Dr. Robotnik interrupted, stepping closer before giving the female, Riley, and experimental prod with his finger, “Doctor's log number five hundred and forty nine, personal. Female subject that has designated herself as Riley, Riley Prescott, is in fact not a hallucination as previously speculated. Subject is genuine flesh and blood. Subject has also somehow attained knowledge she has no logical or logistical way of possibly acquiring. Further analysis is required.” he finished recording his log before glancing to the boulder he'd been dragging around for nearly a year, “Agent Stone, you're unfired.”

_“-sigh-_ You're a hallucination, doc,” groaned Riley, twirling her spear before bringing the blade a bit to close to Robotnik for his liking, “Now, judging by the way you're-well-the way you're here, I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that you didn't come to Purgatory of your own volition.” 

Slowly, the woman in red began to circle Robotnik, eyeing him the way a cat eyed a mouse. This was abnormal. Dr. Robotnik was the hunter, not the hunted. Everything about him was critical. Precise. Down to the last minuscule calculation. Why was this “Riley” beginning to get under his skin? Throw off his grounding mechanisms and mental computing. He'd never felt this way about another human before. Unless of course there was a piece of the equation missing thus throwing all calculations into disarray.

“Truth is, sweetie, I pop by this little hole in the wall planet every now and then. It's a great little secret. A bit of alone time and a wealth of valuable components. Rare spores, molds, and poisons. I was just visiting to harvest the fresh crop of Wyrmrot,” explained Riley, taking a moment to show Robotnik one of those nasty, oozing, puss-filled fungi that was kept in a glass vial in her satchel, “But then I felt something. The beating of a human heart on a previously uninhabited planet. A human with vast intelligence I've never before encountered in a mortal. And the draw of intoxicating energy. A faint trail of pure, unbridled, raw power! A trail that conveniently enough ends with you.”

The woman pointed an immaculately manicured finger right at Robotnik's chest, exactly where he kept his one artifact of value he had to his name. At this, Dr. Robotnik lowered a suspicious glower to her, already working out the odds if he was forced to defend himself.

“Sweetie, relax now. I am not a thief. I am a business woman. But for today I am your fucking fairy godmother!” Riley purred, “I propose a deal. You want off this Gods forsaken hellhole, this is a service I can provide,”

To demonstrate her claim, the red woman strode a few paces away to the edge of the massive mushroom cap they stood upon and moved her hand in a circular gesture. Before long, a portal similar to the kind that sent Robotnik to Mushroom Purgatory in the first place appeared. Several landscapes of different worlds flipped and shifted, as though one were flicking through the photo gallery on a smartphone at an incredibly fast rate. Riley had considered the position of her demonstration carefully, placing the dimensional gateway where the doctor could get a good look at it but would be unable to reach if he decided to take a leap of faith.

“You-you don't need rings,” Dr. Robotnik stated, more of in an observation to himself rather than a comment towards the mysterious red woman.

“Of course I don't need rings, my dear,” Riley grinned, her previously blue eyes flashing devilish red, “I'm a demon! Well, technically half-demon. But that's the half that counts.”

Demons. Devils. The Boogeyman. Nothing more than creatures of myth and folklore that had no scientific explanation. That really had no place in science period! Nothing more than ghosts and goblins meant to frighten children. A construct crafted to control the weak-minded and easily manipulated. Dr. Robotnik put his faith in his machines. Not God. Not the Devil. He believed in what could be seen and proven. It was an impossibility, yet here she was standing before him. She knew things, things he never told her. Up until about five minutes ago Robotnik had never even seen this woman-this creature-this demon before. As for her display of power, even Robotnik might have a hard time disproving what he'd just witnessed. (With or without the aid of strange mushrooms.)

“Zzzzdt. Zzzzzzzzzzdddt. The rings alone are inert of all known science and logic. An impossibility. Sorcery and magic, which has no place on Earth. Yet they exist. I have seen them. However the existence of demons has yet to be proven by science.”

“ _-sigh-_ You scientific types, how much more proof do you need? You're seeing me here and now, aren't you?” questioned the demoness, tossing her spear into her other hand, “It's obvious you know about the existence portals. Of magic. And you're no native to this planet. So, here's my special offer to you, darling. I will take you anywhere in the universe you wish to go. In exchange, all I ask is for that pretty blue trinket you have in your pocket.”

Once again, that woman-no-that creature was writhing and squirming her way under his skin. Everything Robotnik knew was telling him one thing; that demons were a make believe construct. They weren't real! A myth! Created by religious organizations to take hold of the fearful, easily manipulated, and the stupid. Yet could it be possible? Could demons be any more real then a sharp-tongued blue hedgehog that had the power to run faster than the speed of light and conjure bolts of blue lightning?

The gears in Dr. Robotnik's mind began to shift and turn fast. Should this just be another trick of the brain played by eating the wrong mushrooms, what could he have to loose? Nothing. He'd just be back where he started. Peacefully. Quietly. At this point he'd enjoy himself. But if this was genuine, the doctor finally had a chance to return home and finish what he'd begun almost one Earth year ago. That being said, Sonic's quill was not something Dr. Robotnik was willing to sell. Not even for a lift out of the honorary tenth Ring of Hell. Carefully, the doctor pulled the cracked glass tube out of his chest pocket. Inside was a single, Azure quill from an otherworldly creature, pulsating with energy. Chaotic, untamed, and extremely potent.

Riley held out her elegant hand, smiling devilishly, “All you need to do is shake my hand, sweetie, and our deal is struck.”

“What if I told you that instead of just this one quill, I could take you directly to the source,” Dr. Robotnik bargained, his own grin widening once he saw just how interested Riley became, “Just as long as Agent Stone can come too.”

“The source? Do go on, darling,” the demoness urged.

Robotnik remained silent, simply shifting via deliberate mechanically precise movements as he bent down to the boulder, casting Riley an expectant look.

“Oh... ummm.... Yes, of course. Whatever pleases you, my dear. Now, you were saying something about a source? I do love a good st-” Riley suddenly cut herself off.

The demon's previously silky and seductive voice turned into an inhuman snarl as something caught her attention. Dr. Robotnik shifted his gaze, lowering his goggles as he did. While he couldn't see anything, there was a noxious feeling in his stomach. The kind he'd get from just predicting that at any second he'd be surrounded by one too many knuckle draggers all at once.

“ Rockconnaissance, Agent Stone. Rockconnaissance!” he hissed, “And to think I wanted to take you with me.”

“Wonderful. THEY'RE here,” groaned Riley, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she whipped her spear through the air in a dramatic flourish, “Ugghhh, I do NOT have time for them now!”

“Well Riley, Riley Prescott, just who are 'they'? Are you sure it's not the mushrooms? Listen long enough and their chatter never ceases.”

At the doctor's inquiry, Riley answered with a icy tone in her voice, “ I assure you, sweetie, it's not the mushrooms. They're hunters!”

“And just what might 'they' be hunting?”

“Me.”

Another demonic snarl ripped from Riley's throat as her previously fair skin turned light molted red. Two black horns sprouted from her forehead and a set of large, leathery bat-like wings flared from her shoulders. Fingernails became sharpened talons while teeth became fangs.

Upon transformation, she let out a devilish laugh, driving her spear's tip into the stalk of a nearby Wyrmrot mushroom, twisting the blade and coating it with the sickly yellow and foul-smelling puss that oozed from it. Robotnik took a few steps back; his previous hypothesis about the severe likelihood of that particular specimen being poisonous instantly confirmed.

Before the mad doctor could fully take in what was happening before him, a loud 'BANG' cracked through the air. Unmistakable; gunfire! Riley swung her spear, causing a sharp 'PANG' of steel upon steel as she cast aside a large, pulsating blue bullet.

“Tick tock, doc!” the demoness hissed, right before another bullet hit it's mark, right in her shoulder.

A scream of agony pierced the sky. Eyes blazing deep scarlet, Riley quickly tore into the injury with her free hand, talons digging into her own flesh, and wrenched the projectile out. While the blackened, sticky blood oozing from the wound remained on the half-demon's skin, the injury itself began to close and heal on its own at a rapid rate.

Riley took on a defensive stance to intercept a charge as two figures emerged from behind their cover. From what Dr. Robotnik could observe; one was a human (most likely, anyway), male, young adult, armed with some sort of handgun. The second; well he'd only be able to describe it as a colorful, human-sized, bipedal furry thing, most likely female, considering the bright pink mane that stood out in contrast to the rest of it's brown fur. It might have even been considered mildly amusing had it not been for the very large fangs, sharp claws, and dual swords it held. Both “hunters”, as Riley described them, were wearing some sort of otherworldly armored overcoats, the human's black and the alien creature's red.

With a snarl, the wolf-like alien hurled a sphere of furious pink fire from the tip of one of her dual blades, right for Robotnik and the demoness. Riley hastily countered with a shadowy blob of dark magic, intercepting the fireball and smothering the blaze before it had a chance to explode. Her gaze narrowed, using her wings to shield Robotnik from the hunters' line of sight.

The half-demoness knew she would need to end this before it had a chance to get started.

Robotnik, meanwhile, could feel a slight 'thrumming' of energy reverberating against his hand. An ever slight Azure glow pulsed from the quill.

“Agent Stone, your input?” he questioned, watching as the hunters nearly closed in on the demoness.

Quickly, the doctor slung the piecemeal backpack off his shoulders and begun digging around, smiling when he finally found what he was looking for.

Robotnik watched with baited breath, clicking the tube containing Sonic's quill into the cobbled together weapon. He was already forming strategies in his mind based upon mental calculations over which side was more likely to emerge victorious. (Or which side his somewhat tarnished silver tongue could win over.)

More angry flames blazed around the furry creature's paw-like hands. Right where Riley and Robotnik stood, embers ignited to life, surrounding both of them with a searing wall of fire that effectively cut off any attempt to flee. Fierce, pink flames licked painfully at Robotnik's exposed skin, causing him to let out a cry of pain. While the demoness' wings helped to shield him from the blaze a little, even she was beginning to buckle under the intense pressure of the conjured inferno.

“Shit! Dragon's Fire, how typical.”

Waiting for her opportune moment, Riley quickly summoned one portal in front of her while a second appeared right behind the colorful, pyromaniac bipedal wolf. With a devilish sneer, she thrust her spear through the opening, the poison-coated blade coming out the other side of the gateway. The wickedly sharp spear tip found a chink in the huntress' armor, right in the back of her left calf muscle, causing her to stagger from the sudden and unexpected pain.

“Kautounie!!” called the black-clad human, as he skidded to a halt.

An agonized snarl tore from the wolf-alien's throat when the spear head was twisted, then violently ripped out of her flesh, coating the fungi and ground with bright crimson. She turned around just in time to see the portal opening that allowed such an attack to snap shut.

Only now did reality strike the huntress. That smell. That horrid, rotten odor. And the yellow ooze mixing with the blood dripping from the wound. The wolf-alien, Kautounie, stumbled forward, having a hard time keeping herself upright without her fellow hunter's help. She attempted to summon her flames once more, but the sparks that did appear winked out of existence like cooling embers. Almost instantly, the wall of fire engulfing the demoness and Robotnik dissipated, leaving nothing more then smoldering ashes and burnt fungus in it's place.

“I-I'm fine, Geoffrey. Get that bitch!” she panted, through gritted fangs, “And-and whatever it is HE'S got!”

While the human hunter, Geoffrey, appeared torn between assisting his wounded partner or finishing the job, he ultimately carried on with the attack. Kautounie limped behind, weakened but not ready to throw in the towel yet. Even Robotnik could admire their tenaciousness. The same kind of dedication his beloved machines displayed. Not stopping until the job was complete no matter the cost. All fine and good, except of course for the fact that Riley and apparently now he WERE the job those hunters were meant to see through to the end.

“Zzzzzzdt. Zzzzzzzzdtt! The red demon it is then.”

Robotnik followed the hunters' movements, watching for the exact moment when they set their sights on him. He leveled his jury rigged canon to the pair and fired, sending a bolt of unsteady but powerful blue energy rippling through the air and directly into Geoffrey's and Kautounie's chests, knocking the wind out of their lungs and sending both of them toppling backwards several yards, crashing through various mushroom clusters and kicking up a mess of spores and mold. Both combatants were forced to drop their weapons from the violent and unexpected impact.

An insane grin spread across Dr. Robotnik's face, having finally gotten a chance to see what his jury rigged cannon was capable of against an actual living being. The glass tube containing the blue quill began to crackle and spark, causing the weapon to ignite with unstable, raw energy.

“Aha! Successful-” Robotnik cut himself off, quickly wrenching the quill from his patched together contraption before casting the weapon aside, “Huh.... never mind.” he hissed, eyes rolling in annoyance behind his goggles before glaring at the nearest mushroom as though it were the toadstool's fault.

Well, honestly, what could he have expected to happen when you combine a jury rigged gun alongside an artifact with power too vast to quantify? Still, it was a successful test to some degree that threw his would-be attackers through quite a loop.

“Gee, you are handy in a scrap. Thanks, Doc,” purred the half-demoness, while her wings spread wide, “I might just owe you one.”

Robotnik just smirked, pocketing the still crackling quill. It nearly faded just as quickly when he caught sight of the two hunters staggering back to their feet. (Just who or what were these people? Terminators?!)

“Okay Geoffrey.... what the _-cough-_ fuck was that?” groaned Kautounie, casting a pained and irritated look in her fellow hunter's direction.

“Let's _-cough, cough-_ go ask!” came the human's rather blunt response.

They just would not give up! 'Real survivors' as Agent Stone would have put it.

“My, my, you two have gotten terribly sloppy. I certainly hope it's not something that I've done,” Riley sneered.

She paused, rolling her eyes as the pair of hunters withdrew their backup arms, Geoffrey another handgun and Kautounie a smaller but still plenty sharp machete. While the demoness normally would have enjoyed toying with them some more, there was too much at stake. Hell, they'd played around much too long already.

“I'd love to stay and continue our conversation, but business must intrude. Do give little Neo my regards... if you ever see her again,” the demoness taunted, before roughly grabbing Robotnik by the collar of his damaged flight suit, “And you! You're coming with me, Doc!”

Riley gave an insufferable smirk and intentionally fell backwards off the edge, laughing evilly as she did while dragging an unwilling Robotnik down with her. Kautounie lobbed her blade at the pair, missing quite dreadfully as she succumbed to her previous wound and collapsed to the ground, leaving Geoffrey to attempt to grab either one of their targets. Bounding forward, the hunter reached out and grasped for Robotnik, missing by mere inches.

“Save yourself, Agent Stone!!” called Robotnik, with a manic laugh.

Several more gunshots pierced through the air, although with the rush of wind whipping in his ears it was harder to hear. Not as hard to feel, however, as a sudden, sharp pain ripped through the mad doctor's flesh. For the first time in a long time, Robotnik felt panic fill his chest, with nothing but that demon's wings between him and the slimy, stinking, fungi forest that the two of them were rapidly plummeting towards. Before falling into the writing mass of toadstools, spores, and slime, a dimensional gateway suddenly tore through the veil of space. Riley veered towards the portal and shot through it like a bullet, still keeping a firm hold of the doctor.

Finally! His forced stay in Purgatory came to an end.

**~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~~STHH~**

All Geoffrey could do was watch as the two plummeted toward the shady, writhing, slimy ground below. Well, watch them fall while firing as many shots as his handgun carried. When the gun simply clicked, signaling it was empty, he cursed to himself while Riley and Robotnik vanished through the portal. Even if he'd jumped from where he stood, the gateway would close before landing. Then where would he be? (In deep shit, that's where!) And of course there was the matter of his injured sister-wait!

“Shit! Kautounie!!” the human cried out, rushing back to the injured huntress' aid.

She didn't look good at all, what with the wound still open and the toxin beginning to take full effect. Weakly, Kautounie grabbed a hold of Geoffrey and moved her free hand in a somatic gesture, but not even the tiniest sliver of a cut within another dimension would answer her call. She tried again. Once more, their location refused to shift as the sorceress commanded.

“I-it's-it's Wyrmrot, isn't it? Fucking Hell.” Kautounie cursed, already knowing that she'd answered her own question before even asking.

Her human brother worked on cleaning out the injury with the first aid kit he'd thought to bring along. At the very least he had the forethought to hand her the most important medicine of all before working; a flask of whiskey.

“Just our luck to end up on a planet literally crawling with Wyrmrot,” groaned Geoffrey, gazing “And I picked a bad time to leave my portal gun at home.”

“T-that's... just a Rick and Morty thing, dear brother...”

Honestly just anyone's poor luck to come to such a desolate planet. Breathable air, sure, but an excess of heat, slime, stench, and fungus. Fungus, toadstools, AND mushrooms. A great variety. And without Kautounie's magic, there was no telling for just how long they'd be stranded.

Of course, it wasn't just the the sting of an embarrassing defeat leaving a bitter taste in their mouths.

“T-that Gods-damned harpy is right. We have g-gotten sloppy,” Kautounie spat, taking another mouthful of whiskey while she assisted her brother in suturing the wound on her leg.

She let out a hiss of pain, ears folding flat against her head as the tears threatened to flow from her eyes, “I miss her, dear brother. I miss her so much! How? Why would she-?”

A sullen sigh left Geoffrey's lips. If he had the answers, he'd have gladly given them to his Konderi sister. There was a trickle of guilt beginning to pool in his stomach as he turned his head away. If he hadn't have been such a cocky bastard. If he hadn't gotten himself hurt. Then Neo wouldn't have been-wouldn't have been thrust into the position she'd been in.

“So do I, dear sister. And I would gladly give all that I have to my name to undo what happened to her.”

“We should have just kept looking for our sister,” Kautounie growled, with a defeated sigh while slumping back against a mangled mushroom stump, “I was such a fool.”

“Guess I'm a fool too. After all, I didn't try very hard to stop you.”

It was just stupid, blindly rushing after the half-demoness the way they had. Of course, grief could make one do crazy things. Cause one to go blind with rage and hatred. For a while, the two of them sat in silence once a makeshift dressing was tied around the Konderi's freshly stitched wound, taking in their new and alien surroundings as they passed the flask back and fourth. What could they have handled differently? What could they do now other than wait for the Wyrmrot to wear off?

“Who do you think that mysterious mustache man was?” questioned the huntress, “There's very few reasons Riley would let a mortal live. Let alone mount a rescue. One, if living would prove to be a worse punishment then death,”

Much like their current predicament.

“And two, if she intends to strike a deal.” Geoffrey finished.

Indeed. That man hardly looked like a native. Hell, there wasn't supposed to be any sentient life on this hole-in-the-wall planet. How he got here, the siblings could only speculate. But it was what he was in possession of that turned the cogs in their minds. That strange blue thing. A spine? Needle? Quill? From what Geoffrey could gather, given his very short observation, it was too thick and stiff to be a lock of hair. Whatever it was, it held exceptionally powerful, raw, and unstable energy. Perhaps it was that unique artifact which attracted Riley to this dumpster fire of a planet in the first place.

As they discussed their next move, Kautounie paused, her amber eyes sliding to where 'Agent Stone' rested. She and Geoffrey both leveled a glare to the vaguely face-shaped boulder before the huntress simply growled, “Shut up...”

Tapping on his gauntlet, a small, holographic screen projected itself just above Geoffrey's hand. However it was the glaringly obvious red “NO SIGNAL” flashing on top that earned yet another chorus of groans.

There wasn't much that could be done, other than keep an eye on Kautounie's injury and hope that her sorcery would return in a timely manner, especially before any sort of infection festered. (After all, open wounds, moist heat, and masses of fungus wasn't exactly a winning combination.) Now the wait began.

“Well.... this place really fucking sucks!”

**::TO BE CONTINUED::**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this first half of this chapter, I was LOVING it, feeling it, came out exactly as I envisioned. The second half? Eh.... let's just say I had two deleted scenes, several re-writes, and I was just getting frustrated trying to work things out in a smooth fashion. Originally, the battle was much longer... too long. I wanted to keep the fight short. Even as it is, it's still longer than I intended but I honestly wanted Robotnik to contribute something to the battle and for Kautounie to do SOME damage as well.
> 
> Now... Robotnik is fucking FUN to write. I seriously love this guy and had a surprisingly fun time thinking of his cold and to the point scientific, critical thinking. Among my main ideas for starting this fic were of course Sonic meeting someone named after a Keanu Reeves role and how a man of science like Robotnik would handle a demon/sorcery. Riley is cunning and manipulative. Robotnik is highly intelligent and usually three steps ahead. (He is also a cunning and manipulative bastard in his own right.)
> 
> Since there was so little information about the Mushroom Planet, I took some liberties. What are the odds some of those shrooms might just be of the “magic” variety? I'd imagine that quite a few would be poisonous as well. (Couldn't resist my magic-crippling Wyrmrot.) Plus all the spores, molds, and other nasty things that would probably multiply like madness on that planet. That place would be horrifically dreadful to get stranded in, I'd say. One would probably go mad after barely a day.
> 
> Now, I speculate that if Sonic actually did go there, that place would have killed him! Maybe not in the physical sense, but hear me out. On Earth, yes, he was terribly lonely, suffering from severe trauma and mental illness from his isolation. But at least there was SOME stimulation. The Mushroom Planet? There's nothing! Absolute crippling loneliness. His heart may beat, lungs take in air, and blood pump, but his bubbly spirit would wither and die. Would that really be a life worth living?
> 
> The first time you get that clear, zoom out shot of the Mushroom Planet, just getting an idea of how lonely and desolate it is, my first thought was how it was like some sort of deranged Purgatory, thus the chapter name. A forced stay couldn't have happened to a nicer asshole. However I'm quite cruel, therefor Robotnik and Riley got to bail, while Kautounie and Geoffrey are left wounded and stranded. 
> 
> Disclaimer: Of course, while Neo, Kautounie, and Geoffrey belong to me, Sonic, Tom, Maddie, and Robotnik belong to Sega/Paramount and this is all written in the name of fun!


	4. How to Make a Deal With a Demon... Stacked in Your Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Robotnik strikes a deal with Riley.
> 
> Sonic introduces Neo to his beloved caretakers.

**Sometimes All You Need is a Friend**

By: TheSilverHyena

Rated “T” for language, violence, and occasional implied drug use when I feel like it.

**Chapter 4 : How to Make a Deal With a Demon... Stacked in Your Favor**

**Doctor's Log Supplemental**

_'It is still uncertain if the recent events of the last approximate half hour have been genuine or just the results of a poor choice in breakfast fare. Not that I have a lot of options. However, make note that while my visual reception may be impaired, my pain reception is not. When I will come down from this unwanted high, only the cruelly slow march of time will tell. Meanwhile, to make the best of my current time, I will conduct a verbal interview with the creature, Riley Prescott. The creature that claims to be a half-demon.'_

Call it what you will. Surreal. Liberating. An incredibly vivid trip. Whatever it was, the feeling of finally be free of that festering, stinking hellhole of a planet could only be rivaled by a hot shower and a latte. But reality came crashing back to the not-so-good doctor as he was unceremoniously dumped on the hard ground. Agonizing pain lanced through his side, where upon closer inspection was a nasty flesh wound caused by a through and through gunshot from that hunter. His vision swam and blurred, struggling to take in his surroundings. It seemed as though he was on top of some sort of building in the middle of a bustling city.

A city! Had it not been for the searing agony in his side, he might have been happy to hear the chorus of traffic jams again. Inhale the scent of gasoline fumes and listen to the constant hum of electricity and machines. Machines! His beloved machines. Before Robotnik could actually bask in the glory of being somewhere other than Mushroom Purgatory, a warm gust of wind kicked up by leathery wings brought the scientist back to reality. Taking in a deep, shaky breath, the doctor staggered to his feet, still holding onto his side. Blood oozed from the injury, coating his hand in sticky red.

Through blurry vision, he could make out the feminine, demonic form landing in front of him. Red skin shifted back into pale and fair. Horns, wings, and talons retracted, giving Riley the appearance of being just another human again. The demoness held out her hand, hissing something that the ringing in Robotnik's ears refused to let him understand. As she approached, the scientist could feel that his injury was beginning to close and heal at an impossibly rapid rate, the buzzing in his ears was lessening, and his senses were returning. He was actually back on Earth! Finally!

Looking over the skyline, a slight frown crossed the Robotnik's face as he cast a scrutinizing glance in Riley's direction. Colorful lights, even in the afternoon, vibrant themed hotels, and a plethora of casinos, of all the places that creature from Hell could have brought him, “Las Vegas, Nevada?!”

Riley had brought them both through the portal right onto the highest balcony of the Delano, with a perfect view of the famous strip below.

“I was in a hurry, sweetie,” Riley retorted, gazing over the city while she stood beside him, “Besides, I do some business in Sin City from time to time. And in Washington DC of course, but this place is more fun. I really enjoy your planet, Robotnik. Minimal competition from the native demons and hunters scarcely visit this place.”

An irritated groan escaped Robotnik's throat. He didn't have time for this nonsense. He needed to get back on track. Ground himself back to reality and finish what he'd begun nearly a year ago.

“You left Agent Stone behind. How could you?! Zzzzzdt, zzzzdt.”

“Oh please, darling. Agent Stone nobly sacrificed himself so that you could escape,” shrugged the demoness, “Of course, I could always just take you back there if you so desire. That Konderi huntress sure would enjoy some fresh meat.”

A thinly veiled threat. One Robotnik was well aware that this creature was more than capable of carrying out. Right now, without the aid of his beloved drones or the backing of the US Government, he knew that extreme caution was required in dealing with her. The mad scientist lifted his broken goggles, eyeing the half-demoness critically.

“You could, Riley, Riley Prescott. But then I wouldn't be around to take you directly to the source THIS came from!” Robotnik retorted, patting the pocket where the blue quill was safely tucked away, “I have studied it quite extensively. All of that information is right here.”

The mad doctor gestured to himself as he smirked. A calculated risk. There was always the possibility that Riley could kill him then and there and just take it. Or steal the quill before casting him back to Mushroom Purgatory. However Robotnik knew that she was also very interested in his brilliant mind. A mind that would do her no good if he was dead or stranded on another planet.

“Quite right,” Riley confessed, seating herself precariously on the wall overlooking the ledge of the building, “But a deal's a deal.”

Robotnik's eyes leveled into a glare as though the half-demoness had just spat at him by holding out her hand expectantly, “Zzzzdt, zzzzdtt... first of all the conditions of your deal, YOUR deal not mine, clearly stated that you would take me anywhere in the universe that I wish to go. You chose this place. Not me. Secondly I never shook your hand, the mechanism in which said deal would be binding, according to your own words. Therefore we made no such arrangement. Thirdly, you said Agent Stone would come too. Do you see him here? No, you don't. Because you LEFT him behind!”

Now it was the half-demoness' turn to glower at Robotnik accusingly, however it quickly turned up into a sneer as she laughed. Sharp, this mortal (all things considered. He WAS rather adamant about bringing that worthless paperweight with him for some bloody reason.)

“Ahahahaaaa... you are too much! Most men would have simply thrown themselves at me by now. Wouldn't have even given it a second thought,” she stated, “Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the groveling but it can get a little boring after a while. But you... you've been thinking this through from the moment you realized I wasn't just the figment of a bunch of Shiitake mushrooms gone rotten.”

“I am NOT like most men, zzzzzdt,” the scientist pointed out, “I have neither a heart nor soul. Just my genius mind.”

“Oh sweetie, believe me you have a heart and soul all right. Black, withered, and rotten to the core. That's what I like about you.”

Riley slid from her perch, reaching out once more to touch the human's face only for him to evade her advancements, going as far as to knock her hand away. Tilting her head curiously, she halted; why weren't her usual tricks working on this man? Not once had he even shown the slightest bit of interest, other than from a strictly scientific standpoint. Shrugging off Robotnik's slight, the half-demoness continued, “However, my dear, what you do not have is your machine army. Nor equipment. Nor allies. No base of operations. No funding. Not even a name.”

Before the scientist could question what exactly Riley was talking about, she reached into the satchel at her side, pulled out what looked suspiciously like a smartphone, and handed it to Robotnik. All the answers he'd need, the man would be able to find on his own. Or rather, he'd garner more information out of what could not be found. Despite having been quite a while since using any sort of technological device save for his wrist mounted recording device used to keep verbal logs while stranded in Purgatory, Robotnik dived right in. None of his old clearances worked anymore. The deeper he traversed down the rabbit hole, the more reality began to sink in. He'd been betrayed and sold out by his former employers. Erassed. Dr. Ivo Robotnik didn't even exist anymore!

However, entire empires had been built upon less. And Robotnik could rebuild. But perhaps with some help, he'd be able to do it even faster. Already, the cogs in his head were turning on how to use this situation to his advantage. He had no name. He didn't officially exist anymore. This could work in his favor.

“Zzzdt! What do you say we make a deal?” he questioned, with a quirk of his eyebrow.

“I'd say that I'm very interested in what you propose,” the demoness answered, “Unlike many of my kind I accept all major forms of payment. Souls, favors, and... artifacts. Of course, souls must just seem silly to a brilliant man of science such as yourself,” she chuckled, “But you already know what I'm interested in. The question is, what can I do for you?”

The scientist nodded.

“Very well, Riley, Riley Prescott. Are you capable of procuring my old equipment? My mobile lab, my drones, and a stationary base of operations?”

This time, Robotnik began to slowly circle Riley as he spoke. Taking control of the situation, keeping himself calm, focused, and purely down to business.

“As long as your equipment still exists somewhere on this world,” confirmed the half-demoness.

She accepted her phone back from Robotnik, which had a heavily redacted file on the screen that he'd managed to dig his way into. (Quite an impressive feat, really.) Riley nodded, “This will do.”

“Zzzzdt! I will also require a sufficient source of funding,” Robotnik added, holding up his finger for emphasis, “A source that will not be traced back to me or has been compromised in any way, especially once our transaction has been finalized. In fact I need assurance that neither government nor local law enforcement interfere with my operations.”

A tall order to be certain, but manageable.

“Lucky for you there are many in your former industry that owe me favors and you're just the investment I have been waiting for,”

At Robotnik's questioning heat tilt, Riley elaborated, “Darling, how do you think those bumbling baboons with no talent or real ambition, that you once answered to, got into their positions of power? It wasn't hard work, superior intellect, or merit like you. Those who had the money bought their way to the top. Those who didn't sought out alternative services, like the ones I provide. Competition is minimal on this world. Being half human has it's perks. I don't need to be summoned via crossroads incantations or an Ouija Board like the demons of this world, so...”

She paused, taking notice of the angry glower Robotnik was leveling towards her. All this time, he'd been suffocated under the crippling weight of those incompetent imbeciles and meddling morons because of her?! (Or possibly others like her.) How long had this-this creature been gumming up the works of what could have been a well-oiled machine? Seriously, he just about looked like a computer about to malfunction with the way he was sputtering so angrily.

“Do you have ANY idea what it's like to be the smartest person in the world? Do you want to know why it's such a miserable experience?”

“Because everyone else is stupid by comparison,” Riley answered, in a bored tone, once more taking a seat on the ledge of the balcony, “Like I haven't heard that one before...” she muttered to herself.

“Yes!” the doctor shouted, perhaps a bit louder than Riley was anticipating.

“Temper, temper darling. Don't hate a lady for just making a living, my dear. Nothing personal, just business. Besides, I'm about to cash in all that suffering, blood, sweat, and tears and reinvest it all right back into you. Small universe, isn't it? Anything else?”

An irritated sigh left Robotnik's mouth. However annoyed he was with her, the mad scientist was becoming more and more intrigued by this creature and what she could do for him, “Zzzzdt! Yes again. I will be in charge. You will take my orders and defer to me without question. And you will not lie to me. I will be allowed to cancel this deal at any time. Furthermore there will be no more 'dear', 'sweetie', 'darling', 'honey', 'babe', or any other condescending pet names of false endearment. It's DOCTOR. Got that, Riley, Riley Prescott?”

Wow. This guy was good! Riley had to admire his thought process, covering angles any other mortal wouldn't have even considered. Robotnik positively fascinated her. Any other man would have had her spear through his gut by now for speaking to her in that manner. Of course, Robotnik was unlike any mortal she'd ever met.

“Please, just make it Miss Prescott. It's easier that way, Herr Doktor.”

A smug smirk crossed the scientist's face as he closed in on Riley, barely arms length away while stroking his chin, “I actually like that one. Keep it,” he stated.

“Very well. And because I admire you, barring any commands of self-termination, self-banishment, or altering the terms of the deal once it has been struck, I find this acceptable.”

Robotnik knew that caution was paramount. He'd made a pretty solid prediction that he might be able to get away with placing himself in charge. However, the scientist knew that if he got too greedy and tilted the deal too far to his side, Riley might not be willing to accept. (With disastrous results, no less.)

“Fair enough, Miss Prescott. I would also like to conduct some studies on you. Purely from a scientific standpoint. Non-invasive, just some power readings, vital statistics, perhaps a few verbal interviews. You are the first demon, half or otherwise, that I've been in contact with. I'd like to see what makes such a creature tick.”

Riley simply rolled her eyes and chuckled softly; somehow the demoness expected as much, “Such a shame. I prefer invasive,” she muttered, to herself before flashing the doctor a devilish grin, “At your convenience, Herr Doktor.”

Another win for Robotnik, but now came the most important part of this deal. Heaving a deep sigh, he carefully pulled the glass tube containing the Azure quill out of his pocket. At once, Riley could feel the raw energy radiating from that beautiful thing. Yet there was a slight interference. Anger, resentment, and an urge to extract revenge. All of it pouring from Dr. Robotnik as his fist tightened around the vial, threatening to shatter it.

“Lastly, Miss Prescott, I want your assistance in capturing the creature THIS quill came from!” hissed Robotnik, “And I want it alive! It! Must! Be! ALIVE!!”

“There is a lot of power to be had in a name, Herr Doktor. Does this creature have one?”

“Yes... it's name is Sonic.”

Now it was all starting to fall into place. The blue quill, the mushroom planet, and the doctor. She could see it in her mind's eye; The normally quiet Main Street of Green Hills. A stunning flash of blue lightning. A golden ring leading to that mushroom-infested hellscape. And the once handsome devil of a man being cast from Earth.

“So THAT'S how you landed on Purgatory then,” Riley whispered, with a knowing smile, “Now you want your pound of flesh with a beating heart. Consider it done.”

The mad scientist nodded in confirmation. More than anything he wanted that smarmy, cocky bastard to be put in it's place; in his laboratory as a captive specimen. All the tests and experiments he already had plans to conduct on that extraordinary little alien. Harnessing the blue creature's limitless powers for his own desires. Truly, the hardest part would be deciding which tests to preform first.

Riley took a moment, tapping away at the smartphone in her hand, “Please excuse me, my kind usually document our deals on parchment scrolls and ink crafted from the blood of maiden sacrifices but I find these little gizmos to be far more effective and tidy. Plus they take up less space,” she shrugged, “Now then, you're asking a hell of a lot from me and I do expect to be paid. I will be paid in a timely manner. One currency or another. What I want in exchange for my services will be three of those pretty blue quills from Sonic, taken with force by your hand.”

“Three?” Robotnik questioned.

“One thing you'll learn about demons is that we like things in threes. Please don't ask for a detailed scientific explanation because I don't have one for you,” the demoness put her device back into her bag before turning back to the enigma of a man before her, “I will also take... three locks of your hair. Consider it collateral for my services.”

Robotnik glanced over at the much too shiny sliding glass door, hardly recognizing the man staring back at him in his reflection. Damn did he look terrible! As minutely painful for a few seconds as it might be, tearing a few hairs from his wild, bushy mustache would be no problem. (Although why she'd request something like that would require further analysis.)

“Ah, ah, Herr Doktor. No need to worry about any of that until the deal is binding,” the half-demoness held out her elegant hand, “I agree to the conditions that you have dictated. If you agree to mine, shake my hand and our deal is struck.”

At once, Robotnik felt his heart rate spike. Was it fear? Anticipation? Excitement? Perhaps an overly complicated mix? He'd made numerous mental calculations and liked his overall odds. He would be in complete control of the entire operation. Her exceptional powers would be under his command. So, all in the name of science, Robotnik pocketed the quill and extended his hand to the demoness'. Honestly, this was the first time the doctor could recall willingly touching another living creature that wasn't just a specimen on his lab table.

Without giving him a chance to back out, Riley's hand clasped around his with incredible strength, latching on and digging her claw-like nails until they bit through his skin. Her eyes flashed deep scarlet and an echoing, demonic laugh rang in the mad doctor's ears. The previously hot and arid air filled with an inexplicable icy chill that caused goosebumps to form on his skin. Robotnik stifled his pained and surprised cry, not once taking his wild and crazy eyes off of the half-demon before him. A single drop of the doctor's blood flattened and twisted, transmuting into a flowing, spiraling ribbon of searing red flame that wrapped itself around both his wrist and Riley's. The ground beneath his feet shook, accompanied by the rattling of glass. Then just as quickly as it began, it was finished.

“A pleasure to be working for you, Herr Doktor.”

When Riley let go of Robotnik's hand, the mad scientist stumbled backwards, taking in a few gasping breaths. His body felt incredibly drained. Different. Possibly a side effect of the powerful sorcery utilized to seal their agreement. He raised his hand up to his head, an instinctual motion to soothe the incessant pounding up there, and felt... hair? Nice, luscious, thick... hair?! Eyes bulging in surprise, Robotnik turned to face the reflective glass once more.

He was... just as he was; before his banishment to Purgatory. Dressed in his black suit with an overcoat sporting a sharp red trim. That wild, untamed mustache returned to being perfectly curled and jet black. His body was no longer bulging and grotesque, instead he was gracefully proportioned. Everything about the mad scientist was devilishly handsome once more. He remembered the slow, painful decent into madness, (not that he was entirely stable to begin with, mind you,) but it was as if some sort of veil had been lifted. Remembering, but not acting upon.

“H-how did you-?” Robotnik questioned, finding himself genuinely stunned for the first time in a VERY long while.

“Just consider it a bonus,” Riley smirked, flicking her hand once to reveal some sort of key card between her fingers,“Brains and beauty, I like what I see.”

She handed the doctor her key card, which upon closer inspection was for the luxury hotel the demoness had transported them too. With a snap of her fingers, the sliding glass door unlocked all on it's own and opened smoothly. As much as Robotnik was trying to keep his cool and remain calm and critical, there was no hiding that want in his eyes. After almost a year without an actual bed, indoor plumbing, air conditioning, or any of the other modern wonders of technology, he was having a difficult time concealing just how much he wanted to be in that luxurious suite. Now!

“Enjoy yourself, Herr Doktor. The previous occupant of this room won't be needing it any longer. As I said earlier, I conduct a lot of business in this city,” Riley purred, sauntering past the now black-clad man and into the room.

Before Robotnik could duck out of the way, the demoness quickly plucked exactly three strands right from his now immaculately styled hair.

“Ow! Just what was that for, exactly?” he growled, watching as the demoness placed his hairs in a small vial she had produced from her satchel.

Under normal circumstances, it would be nobody's business but her own. However, as of this moment, Riley was obliged to tell her new employer the truth, as per their arrangement.

“Collateral, of course. As agreed upon,” she explained, “You ought to know the power that can be obtained from even a single lock of hair, or in your case, quill,” she added, gesturing to where the doctor kept his blue quill pocketed.

“Duly noted, Miss Prescott. However I doubt you'll find much in mine. But suit yourself.”

“Oh... you'd be surprised.”

With her collateral collected, the half-demoness waited. For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other in silence until Robotnik finally broke it, “Well? What are you waiting for? Christmas?”

“For your command, Herr Doktor. I am to defer to you without question,” said Riley, as she bowed, hiding the wicked grin spreading across her face as she did so, “Remember?”

Smirking in satisfaction, Robotnik prepared the first of many orders he would give to the half-demon, “Let's start with obtaining both my mobile lab and my funding. I'll see how well you handle that, Miss Prescott.”

“Mere child's play,” the fiend snorted, before conjuring a portal right in the sitting area of the hotel room, “Of course, I may have to rake a few bodies across the coals to make it happen.”

“I care very little about human life, Miss Prescott. Just as long as it's not my body, I don't care what you have to do.” Robotnik hissed.

“Hmhmhmmm... black, withered, and rotten to the core... just like I told you. Give me a day or two.”

Without another word, she strode through the portal; where exactly she didn't say nor was Robotnik able to get a clear look at it. Oh well, it didn't really matter. Either the demon would succeed and he'd be back on track or she'd fail and at the very least the doctor would enjoy a few nights in a luxury hotel on Riley's dime.

Taking a look around, Robotnik spotted a sleek black laptop charging on the little office nook. (Surely Riley wouldn't mind if he borrowed that.) Hardly his preferred choice of computer but the doctor couldn't afford to be choosy. Not yet, anyway. Of course, before getting started on playing catch up from over the course of the last year, Robotnik eyed the room service menu right next to the laptop.

“I'd sell my black, withered soul for a latte with steamed Austrian goat milk... and a decent meal without mushrooms,” the mad doctor muttered to himself, giving into his cursed organic needs and snatching up the menu to browse.

**STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~**

Meanwhile, all the way back in Green Hills and blissfully unaware of the impending danger lurking just a few states away, Sonic and Neo descended the stairs outside the main entrance of the school. Both of them were laughing while Neo shook her head in disbelief.

“So yeah, that's why I call her the Pretzel Lady,” Sonic explained, “I'm telling you, she was born without bones. One of these days I'll even prove it to ya!”

“Sonic, I'm afraid to inform you that for a mammal of any sort, that it biologically impossible.” Neo retorted.

Of course, the little blue hedgehog wasn't at all convinced in the slightest. He knew that Neo just needed to see the proof with her own two eyes. With a clever smirk, Sonic cast a glance up to the taller female.

“Biologically improbable?” questioned Neo, uncertain as she quirked an eye brow.

“Impossibly improbable!” Sonic answered, followed by a momentary look of confusion at his own words, “Ummmmm, what does that even mean?”

“At this point I haven't got a clue anymore.”

Neo and Sonic took a seat where they had waited yesterday. She was quick to take notice of just how restless her small, blue friend was. The alien could hardly keep his legs still. Constantly twitching in one way or another.

“Hey Flash, are you alright?” she asked.

“Huh? Oh yeah, totally fine. I just get a bit antsy before practices.”

Of course, Sonic loved playing baseball (especially with people other than himself,) but there was always that tiny, lingering bit of anxiety in the back of his mind. Whispering _'you know they're afraid of you, but they're too scared to say it!'_. While he'd gotten that nagging, annoying voice down to barely a dull whimper, every so often it would speak up.

“Well, I'll be there cheering you on. Just know that I haven't the foggiest as to what will be going on,” Neo admitted, “So if I make an absolute fool of myself, feel free to point and laugh.”

Sonic felt his anxiousness clear up as he struggled to conceal a snort of laughter. Once again he was simply overthinking things. It was going to be great! Neo was going to be there and of course Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady too. His ears perked up at the sound of the familiar navy blue SUV rolling to a stop in front of the school to pick him up. In the blink of an eye, Sonic already had his things gathered.

“So... see ya at the field then, Neo?” he asked, tilting his head cutely with a small, hopeful smile.

“I'll be there. It's not too far of a walk from here.” the girl answered, as she stood up, slinging her own backpack over her shoulder.

“Well, not for me, anyway.” scoffed Sonic, playfully.

The alien teen's ears folded down about halfway and a familiar warmth began to flush beneath his fur when he noticed his caretaker was looking right at them-the two of them. It only got worse when Maddie unrolled the windows and gave a friendly wave and smile Neo's way. While Neo reciprocated in kind, Sonic was still struggling to figure out why he was feeling, well, the way he was feeling. Like a happy embarrassment; heavy emphasis on the embarrassment.

“Pretzel Lady seems very nice,”

As Neo made her way down the steps, a blue blur shot right past the girl, leaving a sudden 'WOOSH' in it's wake, kicking up some dirt and small rocks. Skidding to a halt right beside the vehicle, Sonic straightened up, obviously doing his darnedest to bring back that confidence he had just about a minute ago. This was-wow-, this was actually happening. Why was he so nervous? It was Pretzel Lady, one of his beloved caretakers, and she was meeting his brand new friend... for the first time.

“What could go wrong?” Sonic muttered to himself, before turning to Maddie with a shy smile, a tinge of red showing beneath his fur.

“Hey there, sweetie,” Maddie greeted, leaning as far as the confines of her seat belt would allow, “I take it that's her?” she added, in a whisper.

The blue hedgehog nodded, taking a moment to clear his throat, “Pretzel Lady, this is my new friend, Neo.”

Suddenly it felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. Such simple words, yet hearing them out loud and letting them truly sink in. If felt surreal. (Perhaps it was because the little alien already felt as though he'd known Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady since he'd begun following their lives when he arrived on Earth. Neo on the other hand; well, she was a mystery. Other then that she was kind, smart, and named after a beloved Keanu Reeves character, Sonic really didn't know all that much about her. Except of course that he enjoyed her company.)

“A pleasure to meet you, Milady,” Neo said, even doing a small bow as she did so.

Maddie laughed a little, knowing how Sonic usually refers to her as 'Pretzel Lady'. Now apparently the blue alien hedgehog had Neo in on it too.

“Likewise, Neo. I'm Mrs. Wachowski,” Maddie paused for a minute, almost as though she wanted to say something more but caught herself before doing so, “So, ummm, Sonic told me that you're very sweet and like to use complicated words.”

“Indubitably,” Neo answered, without missing a beat, “And Sonic was just telling me about how you're very kind to animals, a healer of animals, in fact, and have no skeletal structure.”

“It's true!” interjected Sonic, as he tossed his backpack on the seat next to his before climbing in.

His caretaker cast the alien teen a wry smile before she shook her head a little. Yes, no matter how many time Maddie tried to explain it to him, Sonic was thoroughly convinced that she did not have any bones.

“Neo, are you going to be okay? We've got a few errands to run before practice, but do you need a ride?” questioned Maddie.

“Oh, ummm, thank you for the offer, Mrs. Wachowski, but I'll be fine. The baseball field isn't particularly far of a walk from here and it's a beautiful day,” Neo reasoned, “Speaking of which, I shouldn't keep you any longer. See you in a bit, Flash!”

The girl gave a cheerful wave and turned around, though her head was still craned over her shoulder as she did so, at least long enough to see Sonic put most of himself out the open window and call after her, “She really doesn't have any bones!”

Still laughing to himself and tail wagging, the small, blue hedgehog sat down and buckled his seat belt. That went very well. What was he even worried about?

**STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~**

Indeed it was a wonderful day. The sun was shining and the birds were singing in the trees. However, as Neo cut through a lightly wooded area on her way to the baseball field, she couldn't help but hear the nagging voice of doubt hissing in her mind.

_'What do you think you're doing? Now it's not just him, but his family too?! You foolish girl, you should have stayed hidden! Why did you ever approach that boy?'_

“He-he just looked like he needed help,” the girl whispered to herself, taking in a deep breath while clutching at the medallion still concealed beneath her hoodie, “I couldn't just-”

_'You know what you are. You know what you do! What happens when your old work catches up to you? What happens when you fail to protect them as you failed to protect her?! I'll tell you, that poor, sweet boy and his family will be the ones to pay the price in flesh and blood for your selfishness and stupidity!'_

Neo shook her head, just trying to will that vile, slithering, whispering fiend to vanish from her thoughts. After so long of feeling nothing but cold, hollow emptiness, Sonic, in just the short time she'd known him, filled her with a warmth and light that the girl hadn't experienced in a long time. But was she being selfish? Had she unintentionally put that quirky, bubbly, and lovable blue alien in danger just by introducing herself to him?

“Would it have been kinder to just stand by and watch him struggle?” Neo argued with herself, shaking her head, “Hmph... What kind of a “noble guardian” would that make me?”

_'What kind of “noble guardian” are you now? You abandoned-'_

“Shut it! _-sigh-_ Enough of this. T-they'll understand... why can't you?”

There was no undoing what had been done. The ink was already dry. However the future was not set in stone. To simply leave now was out of the question.

“He is my friend now. I guess this means that I better not fail again.”

Neo quieted, finally arriving at the baseball field. She was just a bit early, but any moment cars would be pulling in and the little park would be alive with excitement. It was a nice area, bordered by woodlands. Two large sets of wooden bleachers sat empty at the moment, one on each side of the sandlot. However, upon a quick inspection of the dugout Neo couldn't help but feel something prickling at the back of her mind. A residual mix of powerful emotions connected to the land, invisible to most but clear as day to her.

“What happened here?” she questioned, frowning in thought.

Taking in a deep breath, the girl closed her eyes, taking a knee while placing her open palm on the dirt near home plate. She flinched, just about feeling as though she'd taken a punch to the gut. In her mind Neo could see the field, only it was night. Everything was illuminated by floodlights, right up until an explosion of blue lightning wiped them out, along with just about everything else. An anguished cry from the past echoed in her ears; a cry of sadness, loneliness, and longing. A voice Neo knew well.

“Sonic?”

**STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~**

It wouldn't be too long before vehicles filled with teammates, parents, and bored siblings forced to come and watch began filling up the parking lot. Neo waited patiently on the wooden bleachers, having already finished most of her homework, only glancing up once cars started trickling in. She smiled, catching sight of the navy blue SUV that was becoming familiar to her as well. This time, there was a third person, sitting in the front passenger seat. (More than likely Sonic's beloved Donut Lord.) Letting out the breath she wasn't even aware she was holding, Neo left her seat and approached the parking lot. Already she could hear Sonic's fast-paced and excited chatter.

“Oh my gosh, Donut Lord, there she is! That's Neo. Mo-eh-Maaaaddie has already met her but you haven't yet,” prattled the blue alien, catching himself at the last minute.

Tom quirked an eyebrow and a smile in Sonic's direction, slinging a bag of baseball gear over his shoulder before closing the back of their SUV. He couldn't help but notice the boy's stubby tail wagging. (Of course, Tom would never admit it out loud, especially in front of his wife, but he found it rather endearing when Sonic did that.)

“Sonic... you little blue devil,” Tom lightly teased, ruffing up the fur on the space hedgehog's head.

“Come on, Donut Lord. It's not THAT sort of thing. We're just friends. But you have to meet her before practice starts!” Sonic insisted, taking his caretaker's hand and pulling him along, (thankfully not using his super speed while he did.)

Maddie, meanwhile, took this opportunity to make it “look” like she was checking some messages on her phone while in reality she was taking some candid photos of this very special moment.

“Ah, so I take it that you're the exalted Lord of the Donuts,” greeted Neo, giving a small bow just as she had done with Maddie.

“Protector of the town and defender of all creatures big and small,”

Tom offered his hand to Neo, which the girl gladly shook.

“A pleasure, Milord.”

He looked familiar. Yes, of course; Neo had seen him every so often in town, only then he was usually wearing his sheriff uniform. She made it a point never to pester the local law enforcement unless there was no other option. However the man was seemingly adored by everyone in town. (And by everyone at the sandlot, apparently, as he was met with many enthusiastic waves and friendly greetings.)

Tom let out a small laugh; Maddie had made mention that Sonic got Neo in on their affectionate nicknames too, but he really had to see it for himself.

“Hey, it's good to meet you, Neo,” he said, “Sonic here wouldn't stop going on and on and on about you.”

Neo took the opportunity to give Maddie a handshake as well, now that they weren't separated by a car door and mild awkwardness. Honestly, they were a truly beautiful family. A sheriff, a veterinarian, and their super speedy blue alien son. (And the fact that they were all wearing matching green and white Green Hills baseball jerseys made it that much more picturesque.)

“Thanks for coming, Neo,” Sonic said, trying to maintain his 'confident persona'.

Yet there was a bit of a wetness to his eyes, like tears of joy would come bursting through the floodgates at any moment. There was more to it deep down then just her showing up to watch a round of baseball practice.

“I wouldn't have missed it for the world,” came Neo's answer, glancing up at the rest of Sonic's teammates gathering around their coach on the field, “But I think you and His Lordship are wanted, Flash.”

“Come on, bud, we wouldn't wanna-” Tom began.

“No... don't you dare,” Sonic moaned, as he rolled his eyes, “Neo's not ready for it yet!”

“Strike out.”

He actually went there...

“You need help, Donut Lord.”

“Hey, no need to be so prickly about it.” shrugged Tom, snorting back a laugh as Sonic made another agonized groan.

Coach Maddock, a stern but fair man, was already waving his arm, beckoning for both his assistant coach and Sonic to join with the rest of the team. In a blur of blue, the alien hedgehog was already there, leaving Tom to trudge behind at his regular, slow human pace. Neo and Maddie took their seats in the stands before either one of them got too crowded.

“Wachowski, remember what we talked about last time,” Coach Maddock mentioned.

“No super speed while on the field,” sighed the blue alien, “Also to save the armpit farting competitions for after the practice.” he muttered, in a low voice just to himself as he tried to hide his mischievous smile.

The rest of his teammates groaned, some of them throwing up their arms in exasperation. It made sense, Sonic's powers would give him a completely unfair advantage over any other player on his team or from any opposing team. So as much as the other boys might not have minded a little bit of “help” every now and again, Coach Maddock, Tom, and Sonic had all agreed that the alien not use his super speed abilities during practice or in games.

As the team began to line up for some warm up drills, Neo took the opportunity to glance around at the other parents and guardians. While the vast majority just seemed like they were there to give support and watch their kids play, a few of them had an edge of nervousness about them. Like they were scared of something. Neo frowned slightly, but didn't say anything. She knew it was because of Sonic. However, it seemed that their love and trust in their sheriff overruled any narrative to do anything rash.

One woman in particular had the look of a nervous rabbit despite sitting on the other set of bleachers. When her gaze met with Maddie's, she looked away at once. Neo could take a wild guess as to why; that was Brad's mother. No doubt she'd gotten an earful from Sonic's caretaker about the events that took place yesterday. Thankfully, Brad's younger brother (who was one of Sonic's teammates) wasn't a total jerk.

**STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~**

“So let me get this straight, the player on the mound up there throws the ball, trying to bait his opponent with the bat to swing,” Neo clarified, glancing up to Maddie for confirmation.

“Yes, that's about right. See? You're picking this up Neo,” answered Maddie.

The woman's eyes were laser focused on Sonic as he took to the pitcher's mound. Despite being the smallest member on the team, he was their best pitcher, even without the use of his speed.

“And if the batter there swings and misses, it's called a strike?”

Neo's question was instantly answered as soon as Sonic threw the ball and his teammate swung; a clean miss along with the 'WHOOSH' of air.

“Strike one!” Tom called out.

“But if the one with the bat actually hits the ball, then he is rewarded with a lap around the bases?”

“Are you sure you didn't know anything about this game up until half an hour ago?” Maddie questioned, to which the girl beside her shrugged, “But there's more to it then just that,”

Indeed, Maddie had quite a bit to explain. Bases, batting, tossing a single small ball back and fourth across a very large, open field, and apparently a dire need of eye exams for the umpire. Baseball could make the game of craps seem simple. Not only were there a multitude of rules and positions to follow, but there was also strategy, tactics, and sheer dumb luck at play too. All it took was one weak link to make or break the team.

Yet as the practice was drawing to a close and it was Sonic's turn at bat, he hit the ball with such incredible force that it went sailing across the field, stopping only when it hit the wooden scoreboard on the other side of the fence. (Now all he needed to do was repeat that during an actual game.)

“Did you see that?!” Sonic called out.

“Astounding,” complemented the coach, nodding.

Before long, Sonic was surrounded by the rest of his teammates praising him. Most of them were talking over each other in their excitement but it was the thought that counted, right? He could see the Donut Lord giving him a thumbs up and heard the cheering from the stands. Taking a glance over his shoulder, there was Maddie and Neo, both clapping with great exuberance.

High fives, complements, fist bumps; you'd have thought that little alien had just won the World Series. But no, it was just practice at the local sandlot. But this, right here and now, was far more meaningful than winning a championship title. His family and friends were all there to see it. And really, that was all Sonic needed.

**STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~STHH~**

“Well Sonic, I do apologize that you never got the chance to point and laugh.” Neo mentioned, once Little League practice had wrapped up.

Turned out the girl was spending far more time analyzing how the game was played rather than making a fool of herself in the stands as she previously speculated.

“That's quite alright, I'll just take a rain check,” Sonic good-naturally ribbed, a broad smile on his muzzle, “Why is it called a rain check, anyway?”

“Ironically the term was originally coined to describe a ticket handed to patrons attending a baseball game that regretfully had to be postponed due to, well, rain.”

Neo couldn't help but feel three sets of quizzical eyes all turn in her direction.

“Right,” confirmed Tom, “Are you sure you know absolutely nothing about baseball?”

“I already asked her the same thing earlier,” Maddie chimed in.

When the small family arrived at their vehicle, Neo helped Tom and Sonic load their gear in the back. However, before she could say her farewells and start her trek home, the blue hedgehog had already dashed right to her side.

“Hey Neo, we're gonna go to Strange Brew, that nice little donut and coffee shop downtown. You should come with us!”

At first, Neo was a little apprehensive; she didn't want to overstep her bounds. (Or give that annoying, nagging voice a chance to start into her again.) However...

“You had me sold at coffee!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, Robotnik and Riley threatened to take over this entire chapter. Those two are a lot of fun together.
> 
> The “deal” was something I had to REALLY pay attention to. Attention to all the details, the wording, EVERYTHING! These are two highly intelligent, cunning, and manipulative bastards here. Of course, the not-so-good doctor has a healthy dose of skepticism about the extent of Riley's talents. The demoness just thinks it's cute. 
> 
> While yes, I know Robotnik was starting to look like the classic Robotnik at the end of the movie, I just love the “handsome devil” variation, which is why I had Riley change him back to his former glory.
> 
> As for the second half of this chapter, I really wanted Neo meeting the Wachowskis to be fun and endearing, so she has embraced Sonic's nicknames, calling them Milord/Milady respectively. 
> 
> I admit, I know very little about baseball, other then that it's a game with a lot of rules and a lot of players. When I was younger, by brother played Little League and if we went to a baseball field that did not have some sort of playground I was BORED out of my skull! (Baseball is not my sport, but since Sonic loves it I figured it'd be pinnacle to include it, so here it is with a smattering of some of my personal experiences.) 
> 
> Neo trying to learn how the game is played; I just find that so cute. And the end there, with Sonic getting praise from his teammates and in the stands alike... seriously, the “Baseball Scene” is one of the best parts of the movie. All that boy's ever wanted was to be included; now he is, even if there are those that are still scared of him. 
> 
> But now, the demons of the past loom over the horizon. Eventually, even a speedster's past will catch up to him, sooner rather than later.


End file.
